Graft case: Verdict against SK Sinha, 10 others deferred

A Dhaka court has deferred the pronouncement of verdict in a corruption case filed against former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others over laundering Tk4 crore.

Acting judge Mohammad Ali Hossain of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 on Tuesday fixed 21 October as the new date for delivering the verdict.

Anti-Corruption Commission's Public Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam said the verdict was deferred because of Dhaka Special Judge (Court-4) Sheikh Nazmul Alam Khan's illness.

Apart from SK Sinha, the other accused in the case are: former managing director of Farmers Bank (now Padma Bank) AKM Shamim, senior executive vice president Gazi Salahuddin, first vice-president Swapan Kumar Roy, senior vice-president Md Ziauddin Ahmed, first vice-president Safiuddin Ashkari, vice-president Md Lutful Haque, Tangail residents Md Shahjahan, Niranjan Chandra Saha, Ranjit Chandra Saha and his wife Santri Roy.

Another accused named Md Ziauddin Ahmed has been acquitted as he passed away. Among the accused, SK Sinha, Safiuddin Ashkari, Ranjit Chandra Saha and his wife Santri Roy are absconding.

According to the case statement, the accused arranged a fake loan of Tk4 crore from the Gulshan branch of the erstwhile Farmers Bank and transferred it to SK Sinha's personal account through pay-order.

SK Sinha later transferred the amount to another account in cash, cheques and pay-orders, which is a punishable offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

On 10 July, 2019, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Director Syed Iqbal Hossain filed the case at the Commission's District Integrated Office, Dhaka-1, alleging transfer and embezzlement of Tk4 crore from Farmers Bank to personal bank account.

In December that year, ACC Director Benazir Ahmed filed a chargesheet in the case.

On 5 January, 2020, Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge KM Imrul Kayes received the chargesheet.

Later, on 13 August, the court framed the charges.