The Anti-Corruption Commission is likely to file several cases this week against some officials of five banks and Bismillah Group, a business allegedly involved with embezzlement of Tk11bn from banks.
An ACC probe team Sunday submitted its inquiry report to the ACC Director General Ziauddin Ahmed recommending that at least 12 cases be filed.
Bismillah Group allegedly embezzled around Tk3.92bn from the state-owned Janata Bank, Tk3.06bn from Prime Bank, Tk1.64bn from Jamuna Bank, Tk1.49bn from Shahjalal Islami Bank and Tk629.7m from Premier Bank.
After reviewing the documents, Ziauddin Ahmed is likely to place the report before the three-member commission tomorrow for approval.
As soon as the committee gets approval, the graft busting agency will file cases against at least 40 people from the banks and Bismillah Group under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, an ACC official told the Dhaka Tribune.
The commission has reportedly taken statements from Jamil Hossain Durjoy and Mohammad Ali, sons of two ruling party lawmakers, but did not find any evidence of their involvement in the alleged embezzlement, thus, their names were not included in the list of the accused, sources said.
Durjoy and Ali, non-paid directors of Bismillah Group, allegedly helped its high officials in conducting the scam and fleeing the country.
Before preparing the probe report, the inquiry committee reviewed documents of all the five banks and quizzed around 70 of their officials.
ACC sources said Bismillah Group Managing Director Khaza Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury was the mastermind behind the misappropriation and was assisted by some high-ups of the five banks.
A commission official said when the swindling took place, many of the bank officials, who are now in the five banks, were working with the Prime Bank.
In primary probe, the ACC has found that Khaza Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury, his wife and Group Chairman Nowrin Hasib, his father and Group Director Shafiqul Anwar Chowdhury and his mother Sarwar Jahan are currently living in Dubai. Senior Manager Abul Hossain Chowdhury and another top official Riaz Uddin are in Malaysia and London respectively.
