The High Court on Thursday approved a six-month bail to Regent Group Chairman and Regent Hospital owner Mohammad Shahed Karim in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of illegally amassing wealth.
A High Court bench of Justice Md Akhtaruzzaman passed the order after Shahed Karim appealed against a lower court’s ruling of three years in jail.
Earlier on August 21, he was sentenced to three years in jail by a Dhaka court for failing to provide a wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission, indicating an unaccounted wealth of Tk1.69 crore.
Despite getting bail, Shahed will still be in detention due to a life sentence in a separate arms case, explained his lawyer, Md Aminul Islam.
In total, Shahed faces charges in 24 cases, having been granted bail in 23 of them.
Meanwhile, ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said they will challenge the High Court's decision in the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
The High Court gave Shahed bail due to his brief prison sentence, he noted.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case against Shahed on March 1, 2021.
Shahed was arrested in Satkhira’s Debhata upazila on July 15, 2020 as he attempted to leave the country.
