A Dhaka Court on Sunday sentenced 11 people including former Managing Director of the state-owned Sonali Bank Humayun Kabir in a case filed on charge of embezzling Tk 13.7 million.
Judge of the special court-6 of Dhaka, Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman, delivered the verdict after concluding the trial of the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The 11 convicts are -- former Managing Director of the state-owned Sonali Bank Humayun Kabir, former Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Mainul Haque, General Managers Mir Mohidur Rahman and Noni Gopal Nath, Deputy General Managers Sheikh Altaf Hossain and Md Safiz Uddin Ahmed, Assistant General Managers Saiful Hasan and Kamrul Hossain Khan.
The convicts' list also included Chairman of the DN Sports Limited Motahar Uddin Chowdhury, Director Fahmida Akter and Managing Director of the company Shafiqur Rahman.
Former Managing Director of the Sonali Bank Humayun Kabir and former Deputy Managing Director Mainul Haque were also made accused in the case of Hallmark loan scam. They were in the same posts of the bank during the embezzlement of Tk 25 billion by the Hallmark group.
Mr Humayun Kabir is absconding since the allegation rose against him while Mainul Haque is in jail. Among the other accused, Noni Gopal Nath and Saiful Hasan are still on the run.
ACC lawyer Mahmud Hossain Jahangir said the accused officials of the Sonali Bank have been kept suspended during the trial period.
The eight officials of the bank were sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 10,000 each, in default, they will have to serve three more months in prison.
The three other accused were sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of three years and fined Tk 14.29 million, in default, they will have to serve six months more in jail.
The judge ordered to freeze the amount of Tk 14.29 million in favour of the state exchequer.
The three accused were given another five years rigorous imprisonment for committing fraud and fined Tk. 0.1 million.
The accused embezzled the money after receiving a loan worth Tk 13.7 million from Sonali Bank's Hotel Sheraton branch between April 15, 2011, to May 27, 2012.
Anti-Corruption Commission's Assistant Director Selina Akter Moni launched a case over the issue on January 1 in 2013 accusing 16 people.
A charge sheet was submitted against these 11 persons on May 22 in 2014. The court framed charges against them on November 4 in 2015. And after concluding the trial the court delivered the verdict on Sunday.
