HC upholds freeze on Summit Group's 191 bank accounts with Tk41.74cr
The group will now have to either file an appeal or seek a revision, says the AC lawyer
The High Court has upheld a lower court order to freeze 191 bank accounts, containing Tk41.74 crore, belonging to Summit Group Chairman Aziz Khan, his family members, and entities linked to him across various banks.
The bench, led by Justice JBM Hasan, passed the order today following a hearing on a revision petition filed against the lower court's directive.
Advocate Mahmudul Arefin Swapan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), while Barrister Mostafizur Rahman and Barrister Karishma Jahan appeared for Summit Group during the hearing.
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The Supreme Court's website shows that this writ petition was marked as "Rejected for Default."
Barrister Karishma Jahan told The Business Standard, "The order of 'rejected for default' resulted from the unfortunate absence of the advocate in court when the matter was taken up. We will promptly file an application seeking restoration of the writ for the Court's kind consideration."
Mahmudul Arefin Swapon, the ACC lawyer in the case, told reporters that the petition had been filed on behalf of Aziz Khan and others. After hearing the matter, the High Court rejected the petition. He added that they will now have to either file an appeal or seek a revision.
Earlier on 9 March, a Dhaka court had issued the account-freeze order in response to an ACC application. On behalf of Summit Group, a revision petition challenging the order was subsequently filed in the High Court.
According to ACC, various allegations against the Summit Group and their related institutions were uncovered during investigations.
These included allegations of illegal acquisition of wealth through bribery and corruption and laundering of crores of taka abroad.
The ACC also obtained information about savings, FDR and other accounts. It said the amount of money in the accounts was unusual and suspicious.
During the investigation, it was found that there is a possibility of withdrawing the said amount at any time and smuggling it abroad.
