3 more witnesses testify in Tk34cr graft case against S Alam, PK Halder, 11 others
The witnesses testified before Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5, after which defence lawyers cross-examined them.
A Dhaka court today (9 August) recorded the testimony of three more prosecution witnesses in a case over the alleged embezzlement of Tk34 crore through fraud and abuse of power involving S Alam Group Chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam, widely known as S Alam, former Reliance Finance Limited managing director Prashanta Kumar (PK) Halder and 11 others.
The witnesses testified before Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5, after which defence lawyers cross-examined them.
The witnesses are Reliance Finance Limited, now Aviva Finance Ltd, Managing Director and CEO Mohammad Modassir Hossain; Assistant Registrar of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms Ananta Kumar Pal; and AVP of Deposit Operations and Head of CRM Midhat Aziz.
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Court stenographer Sohanur Rahman confirmed the matter. He said the cross-examination of Midhat Aziz had been completed, while that of the other two witnesses remained incomplete.
The court fixed 7 September for their further cross-examination.
With today's proceedings, 14 of the 15 prosecution witnesses in the case have testified.
The other accused are S Alam Group Vice Chairman Abdus Samad, directors Mohammad Abdullah Hasan and Shahana Ferdous, former Reliance Finance Ltd executive vice-president Rashedul Haq, former manager Nahida Runai, former senior vice-president Kazi Ahmed Jamal, former deputy manager Jumaratul Banna, former managing director of Marine Vegetable Oils Zahir Ahmed, and directors Tipu Sultan, Md Ishak and Md Abdullah Al Mamun.
Among the accused, Nahida Runai and Rashedul Haq are in jail, while the others are absconding. Arrest warrants remain in force against them.
On 19 January, the same court framed charges against 13 people, including S Alam and PK Halder, and ordered the trial to begin. On 19 July, the court recorded the testimony of 11 witnesses.
According to the case allegations, the accused, in collusion with each other, approved a Tk34 crore term loan in the name of a paper company, AM Trading, on 8 August 2013 and disbursed it on 9 September that year. The money was later transferred to S Alam Super Edible Oil Limited.
ACC Deputy Director Tahasin Munavvil Haq filed the case over the incident on 2 July last year.
After investigating the case, he submitted a charge sheet against 13 people on 16 October last year.
