The High Court on Sunday issued a rule for three weeks, asking why the bail of Hall-Mark Group’s Chairman Jasmine Islam should not be cancelled in 11 money laundering cases.
An HC vacation bench comprising of Justice Nizamul Huq and Justice Kashifa Hossain passed the order in response to pleas of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Dhaka district Deputy Commissioner and Jasmine were made the defendants of the rule, said ACC counsel Khurshid Alam Khan.
On August 4, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Jahrul Haque granted Jasmine the bail for a Tk100,000 bond.
The court also stipulated a condition for the accused to pay Tk1bn every month to Sonali Bank.
On August 18, the ACC lodged 11 petitions with the High Court, seeking cancellation of Jasmine Islam’s bail in 11 money laundering cases.
Official sources said through filing the cases the ACC challenged the legality of the conditional bail.
On June 26, the same court ordered the freezing of all 260 bank accounts of the various Hall-Mark concerns, on the basis of several petitions filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the investigation officers in the eleven cases.
On February 7, Jasmine secured bail, which had been rejected by two different courts following the ACC lawyer’s petitions.
On February 13, a High Court bench issued a rule asking the government to explain why the bail order of Jasmine granted by the Senior Special Judge’s Court should not be cancelled.
A High Court lawyer named Dr Eunus Ali Akond filed an application on February 10 before the High Court challenging the bail order.
The bench asked Judge Md Jahrul Haque to appear before it on February 18 and explain the bail that he had granted to Jasmine in the cases.
Several Hall-Mark officials, including its Managing Director Tanvir Mahmud, are now in custody in connection with the Hall-Mark scandal.
