Appellate Div orders hassle-free return of 3 Transcom Group officials, surrender within 72 hours

The Appellate Division has directed  the authorities to ensure the hassle-free return of three top officials of the embattled Transcom Group from abroad and their surrender to the court within 72 hours.

The chamber judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order following a petition filed by Shahzreh Huq challenging a High Court directive.

The three are Transcom Group Chairperson Shahnaz Rahman, its Chief Executive Officer Simeen Rahman, and Head of Strategy and Transformation Zaraif Ayaat Hossain.

Earlier on 22 February, Shahzreh Huq, younger daughter of Transcom Group's late chairman Latifur Rahman and Shahnaz Raan, filed three cases against eight officials with Gulshan Police Station over alleged embezzlement, occupying of property, and illegal transfer of shares of the company.

According to the case documents, Simeen and her accomplices tried to illegally acquire around Tk10,000 crore worth of property of her father Latifur Rahman through false deeds of settlements.

Shahzreh alleged that her father left around Tk100 crore in FDRs across multiple banks before his death.

She accuses her mother Shahnaz Rahman and sister Simeen Rahman of unevenly distributing the FDRs.

The rest are accused of assisting in embezzling the funds.

In one of the cases, the plaintiff mentioned that her elder sister Simeen Rahman took 23,600 shares of Transcom Limited in her name through forgery to deprive her and her brother Arshad Waliur Rahman which she came to know after the death of her father.

The Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) arrested five of them, including two directors, from different places in Dhaka.

They were Md Fakhruzzaman Bhuiyan, serving as the executive director for Corporate Affairs and Law at the Transcom Group; Kamrul Hasan and Abdullah Al Mamun, both directors in Corporate Finance; Mohammed Mossadeq, the assistant company secretary, and Abu Yusuf Md Siddik, manager (company secretary).

Later, a Dhaka court granted bail to them on 23 February in these cases.

However, Shahnaz, Simeen, and Zaraif evaded arrest and went abroad after the cases.

The High Court directed Shahnaz, Simeen, and Zaraif to return from abroad and surrender before the lower court in 60 days.

The HC had ordered immigration authorities and law enforcement agencies not to harass or arrest them in 60 days.

Shahzreh Huq, later, filed a petition challenging the High Court directive.

Senior lawyer Barrister Tanjib ul Alam and Barrister Mustafizur Rahman Khan stood for the petitioner while senior lawyers Muhammad Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Md Momtaz Uddin Fakir, Nurul Islam Sujan, Mahbub Ali, Mohammad Sayed Ahmed Raza, and Shah Monjurul Hoque stood for Shahnaz, Simeen, and Zaraif during a hearing.