Court issues arrest warrant against former land minister Saifuzzaman, 31 others

A Chattogram court has issued arrest warrant against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed and 31 others in a case involving embezzlement of Tk25 crore from United Commercial Bank (UCB) and smuggling the money abroad through 'hundi'.

Earlier, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed a chargesheet against 36 individuals, including the former minister of the ousted Awami League government in this regard on 5 January. 

Judge Mizanur Rahman of the Chattogram Divisional Special Judge's Court passed the order today (7 January) after reviewing the chargesheet. This is the first chargesheet of the anti-graft body in several corruption cases involving former minister Saifuzzaman. 

ACC Public Prosecutor Md Mukarram Hossain stated, "Out of the 36 accused, four are currently in jail. The court has issued arrest warrants for the remaining accused, including former minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and his wife Rukmila Zaman."

On 24 July, ACC officer Md Mashiur Rahman filed a case against 31 individuals, including Saifuzzaman and his wife, at the Chattogram District Office-1. Two of the accused have since passed away, so the investigating officer recommended excluding them from the judicial proceedings. 

The deceased individuals are: Mohammad Abdul Awal, former credit in-charge of UCB, and Kazi Mohammad Dildar Alam, an employee of Saifuzzaman's business organisation. 

The individuals named in the charge sheet are former minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, his wife former UCB chairman Rukmila Zaman, as well as his brother Asifuzzaman Chowdhury, and sister Roksana Zaman Chowdhury. 

Other former directors implicated in the case are: Bashir Ahmed, Afroza Zaman, Syed Kamruzzaman, Md Shah Alam, Md Jonaid Shafiq, Aparup Chowdhury, Touhid Sipar Rafiquzzaman, Yunus Ahmed, Haji Abu Kalam, Nurul Islam Chowdhury, former chairman MA Sabur, and former acting managing director Arif Qadri. Additionally, former bank officials involved in the case include Mohammad Ekram Ullah, Abdul Hamid Chowdhury, Abdur Rouf Chowdhury, Ziaul Karim Khan, Mir Mesbah Uddin Hossain, and Bazl Ahmed Babul.

The individuals accused in the case involving Saifuzzaman's family business, Aramit Group, are: Mohammad Farman Ullah Chowdhury, Mohammad Misbahul Alam, Abdul Aziz, Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Mehmood Hossain Chowdhury, Yasinur Rahman, Yusuf Chowdhury, and Saiful Islam. Additionally, the seven individuals identified in the investigation are Aramit Group AGM Utpal Pal, Pradeep Kumar Biswas, Md Zahid, Md Shahid, Md Sumon, Ilias Talukder, and Osman Talukder.

According to the chargesheet, Aramit Group's protocol officer, Farman Ullah Chowdhury, obtained a loan of Tk25 crore from UCBL by impersonating the owner of a business entity called Vision Trading. 

Subsequently, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury withdrew the funds through his employees and transferred them abroad through 'hundi' for the purchase of property.

The chargesheet alleges that the embezzlement occurred between 13 October 2019 and 13 February 2020.

The investigating officer specified that the accused are charged under various sections of the Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, an Awami League leader, held the position of State Minister of Lands from 2014 to 2018 and Minister of the same ministry from 2019 to 2023. 

Prior to the 2024 parliamentary elections, he faced accusations of accumulating significant wealth overseas. Following this, he did not retain a ministerial position in the subsequent government. 

Media reports indicated that Saifuzzaman relocated to London with his wife and family members around the time of the fall of the Awami League government during the student-public uprising on 5 August 2024.