The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday directed Jatiya Party lawmaker Shawkat Chowdhury to pay Tk 5 crore to Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd (BCBL) within 60 days in connection with two loan scam cases involving Tk 940 million.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division led by acting Chief Justice Abdul Wahhab Miah passed the order, news agency UNB reports.
If Shawkat does not pay the amount within 60 days after receiving the order, his bail in the relevant loan scam cases will be cancelled, said Khurshid Alam Khan, lawyer of Anti-Corruption Commission.
Earlier on October 22, the HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Shahidul Karim directed MP Shawkat to pay Tk 250 million to BCBL within 50 days in connection with the cases.
On May 8 and 10 last year, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed two cases with Bangshal Police Station against Shawkat Chowdhury, lawmaker from Nilphamari-4, Md Asaduzzaman, the then managing director of BCBL, Habibul Gani, the then manager of BCBL Bangshal branch and six others.
The case statements say Shawkat, also Managing Director of M/S Jamuna Agro Chemical Ltd, allegedly misappropriated Tk 94 crore from the branch in collusion with the other accused through 37 letters of credit between December 2012 and March 2015.
Shawkat secured bail from the lower court on September 8 and October 4 last year.