BASIC Bank loan scams: ‘A drama is all we’re watching’

The High Court yesterday expressed disappointment at the embezzlement of large amounts of money from the state-run Basic Bank and the Anti-Corruption Commission's failure to press charges in any of the 56 cases filed over the bank's loan scams in the last seven years.

"Crores of taka has been embezzled. But no work is being done though the Anti-Corruption Commission and so many judges and lawyers are there. Why are they [ACC] silent? This is just like a drama. We are watching the drama. This is not acceptable," the HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat Lizu observed.

The bench was hearing three bail petitions filed by Mohammad Ali, former general manager of BASIC Bank's Shantinagar branch, in as many corruption cases filed by the graft watchdog.

The HC fixed today for further hearing and delivering verdict on the bail petitions.

During the hearing, the HC bench also said that some statements of the compliance report submitted by the ACC were objectionable, as it said in the report that it became very difficult to identify the important witnesses of the cases and record their statements.

"Identification of the key witnesses in the cases and recording their statements have become difficult. All witnesses are not responding. There is a lot of evidence in the cases, and identifying all the actual evidence from the huge amount of bank documents is time-consuming. Besides, the process of identifying the real accused is also very complicated in these cases," the ACC said in the report.

This newspaper has a copy of the report.

The report said one of the reasons for the delay in completing investigations into the loan scam cases is that the location of the embezzled money has been concealed because the money was withdrawn entirely in cash.

The commission said that it has sent Mutual Legal Assistance Request (MLAR) to Malaysia, seeking necessary evidence of the cases.

Statements from Basic Bank's former chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu have been taken in connection with six cases, said the ACC report.

At one stage of the hearing yesterday, Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder, senior judge of the bench, said, "Those who launder public money are very competent. They use sophisticated strategy and tactics to conceal the laundered money by way of layering, placing and legitimising."

Petitioner Mohammad Ali's lawyer SM Abul Hossain told the HC that the ACC was "staging the drama" about the loan scam cases.

He alleged that the graft watchdog itself is corrupt as it filed 12 "false" cases against his client but could not submit the charge sheet in any of those.

The lawyer prayed to the HC to grant bail to his client saying that he has been behind bars since June 9, 2019.

Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik opposed the bail petitions arguing that there are specific allegations against Mohammad Ali of misappropriation and money laundering.

Mohammad Ali is accused in 12 cases involving Tk 424 crore, he added.

ACC lawyer Khusrhid Alam Khan is expected to place arguments before the HC bench today.

According to a Bangladesh Bank enquiry, around Tk 4,500 crore was siphoned off BASIC Bank between 2009 and 2013 when Bacchu chaired the board of the bank.