Economist Abul Barkat arrested in graft case

The Detective Branch (DB) of Police arrested economist Abul Barkat at Dhanmondi in the capital last night (10 July) in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Joint Commissioner Nashirul Islam confirmed the arrest of Barkat, a former chairman of state-owned Janata Bank and former president of the Bangladesh Economic Association, to The Business Standard.

The ACC in February filed the lawsuit against 23 individuals, including Barkat, over the alleged embezzlement of over Tk297.34 crore in the name of AnonTex Group.

Other accused in the case include former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman, former central bank deputy governor Abu Hena Mohammad Razi Hasan, former central bank assistant director Ismat Ara Begum; former Janata Bank managing director Abdus Salam Azad; former Janata Bank directors Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Md Imdadul Haque, Nagibul Islam Dipu, RM Debnath, Md Abu Naser, Sangita Ahmed and Nitai Chandra Nath, and Janata Bank's former deputy general manager Azmul Haque.

AnonTex Group Chairman Md Yunus Badal, Suprov Spinning Ltd Managing Director Anwar Hossain, and Director Md Abu Talha have also been implicated.

According to the first information report, the accused, in collusion with one another, engaged in fraud and forgery to create false records and embezzle more than Tk297.34 crore from the corporate branch of the state-owned lender in Dhaka.

The allegations include approving loans by falsely claiming the existence of buildings or factories on mortgaged land, despite no such structures being present. Additionally, they allegedly overvalued the purchased land, which lacked any structures, to secure the loan.