A Chittagong court on Sunday sentenced five former officials of Janata Bank to eight years in prison in a corruption case involving the embezzlement of over Tk 3.39 crore from the bank.
The verdict was delivered by Md Mizanur Rahman, judge of the Divisional Special Judge’s Court in Chittagong.
The convicted officials were formerly employed at Janata Bank’s Sheikh Mujib Road Corporate Branch. They are Abu Tayyab, Babul Chandra Majumdar, Ranendra Bikash Saha, Moslem Uddin, and Sayeed Hossain.
According to court documents, several bank officials, in collusion with clients, illegally transferred money from multiple accounts at the branch and later withdrew the funds through various current and STD accounts.
A special inspection team uncovered evidence that over Tk 3.39 crore had been misappropriated between January 1, 1999, and March 29, 2000.
Public Prosecutor Advocate Md. Enamul Islam said the court delivered the judgment after examining testimony from 12 witnesses. The sentences will run concurrently, resulting in an effective prison term of eight years.
The court also fined each convict Tk 46 lakh, with an additional one-year jail term in default of payment. All five convicts were absent during the delivery of the verdict.
The case was filed on April 6, 2000 with Double Mooring Police Station by then-Deputy General Manager Md. Abul Kashem Mia of Janata Bank’s Sheikh Mujib Road Corporate Branch. Investigators submitted the charge sheet on June 14, 2011, and formal charges were framed on March 6, 2013, initiating the trial.
