A New York court in the United States has ordered former Bangladesh Bank governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur to give a deposition as part of the ongoing case in the reserve theft case.
As per the court order, he will give the deposition on April 10.
This information has emerged in an internal document of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).
The document states that lawyers Dharmendra Nair and Barrister Syed Afzal Hasan Uddin, involved in the case, confirmed the court's order in an e-mail sent on March 11 and provided information regarding the preparation of Mansur's deposition.
According to the document, Dr Mansur has already submitted an affidavit at the court's request.
He will have to give a direct deposition in the next step. For this, the law firms BSNK and Keystone, appointed by Bangladesh Bank, have organized preparatory meetings for him on April 6 and 10.
Dr Ahsan H Mansur left Bangladesh on April 4. He will first go to New York via Washington DC.
After the visit, he is scheduled to return to the country on April 12. He has also requested to take a related official with him during the visit.
The BFIU document states that Bangladesh Bank will bear all the expenses of this trip.
It has been recommended to provide facilities equivalent to the current governor, including airfare, hotel, protocol. These arrangements will be made from the governor's office.
In addition, the lawyers in the case have requested BFIU Deputy Head Md Mofizur Rahman Khan Chowdhury to be present in the United States at the same time to discuss various issues of the case. He will participate in discussions on expert testimony and ongoing issues.
A meeting has also been scheduled with the co-lead lawyer in the case, Cozen O'Connor.
The document states that Dr. Mansur and the Deputy Head of the BFIU will be on a US visit from April 4 to 12 and Bangladesh Bank will bear this expense as well.
In addition, it has been proposed to nominate another officer involved in the reserve recovery process to assist in the coordination of the case.
On the other hand, Keystone's lawyer Dharmendra Nayar has requested payment of 15,000 British pounds for the expenses related to the statement. A bill for the New York trip and related expenses has also been sent on March 11.
At the same time, it has been proposed to approve Barrister Syed Afzal Hasan Uddin's visit to the US from April 8 to 10. The document states that he had received facilities equivalent to those of a Deputy Governor in the previous hearing as well.
However, due to the sensitivity of the matter, it has been recommended not to publish the order regarding the visit on the Bangladesh Bank website. However, the immigration authorities will be informed in this regard.
Ahsan H Mansur's statement could not be obtained despite being contacted several times for comments regarding the visit.
