Court Summons Toyota Bangladesh MD, executives in fraud case

A Dhaka court yesterday took cognisance of a fraud case against Toyota Bangladesh's managing director and two senior executives, issuing summons after a Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) probe found prima facie evidence of financial misconduct and breach of trust.

The accused are Pranit Singh, a Malaysian national and managing director of Toyota Bangladesh; Akito Ogawa, a Japanese national and deputy general director of Toyota Tsusho Asia Pacific; and Asif Rahman, a Bangladeshi national and general manager of Toyota Tsusho. The court has ordered them to appear on 5 March, court sources said.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam passed the order after reviewing the investigation report submitted by the PBI at Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court No. 5. According to the PBI investigation report, the accused allegedly acted in concert to cause financial and reputational harm to Navana Limited.

The case is now under trial, with further legal proceedings scheduled. No immediate comment was available from the accused at the time of filing this report.

The case was filed on 9 July last year by Shafiul Islam on behalf of Navana Limited. According to the case statement, Navana Limited is the Bangladeshi business partner of the Japanese automobile company Toyota Tsusho Corporation and has long operated as the sole distributor of the Toyota brand in Bangladesh.

The complaint alleged that the accused deliberately submitted false and biased reports on market conditions and Navana Limited's performance in an attempt to undermine the existing sole distributorship arrangement.