The High Court has granted a six-month bail to two trustees of North South University, MA Kashem and Rehana Rahman, who were sent to jail in a case of embezzlement.
Justice SM Kuddus Zaman and Justice Fahmida Quader on Thursday passed the order on condition that the suspects do not leave the country or visit the university campus without permission, according to their lawyer Shah Manjurul Haque.
It paves the way for their release from jail as there are no other cases pending against Kashem and Rehana, Haque said.
In May, four trustees of North South University, Benajir Ahmed, Mohammed Shajahan, Kashem and Rehana, landed in jail after the Anti-Corruption Commission brought charges of embezzlement against them.
The ACC prosecuted six people in total, including the chairman of the Board of Trustees Azim Uddin Ahmed, for allegedly siphoning more than Tk 3 billion off the university on the pretext of purchasing land for its campus. The other accused is, Amin Md Hilaly, managing director of Ashaloy Housing. They were also charged with money laundering.
Mutual Group of Industries Chairman Kashem is a former president of FBCCI and director of South East Bank. Benajir, the managing director of Raymond Group, had served as the president of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Rehana is the managing director of Bengal Tradeways. Shajahan is the managing director of Shah Fateullah Textile Mills and Jalal Ahmed Spinning Mills.
According to the case, the accused bought 36.81 hectares of land at a price far lower than the estimate they had provided to the university authorities with the 'nefarious intention' of embezzling the excess funds.
Initially, they paid the money to the seller and later had their associates withdraw the funds by cheque. The money was then transferred to the accused, who parked it in fixed deposit accounts, reports bdnews24.com.