Farmers Bank scam: HC denies bail to Sohel Rana

The High Court today refused to grant bail to Sohel Rana, suspended manager of Farmers Bank's Tangail branch, in a case filed on charges of misappropriating and laundering Tk 9.28 crore from the bank.

The High Court Bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder sent the bail petition to the regular bench for its hearing after reopening of the court's regular activities following the ongoing closure.

However, the bench passed the order after holding a virtual hearing on the petition through video conference today.

Following the high court's order, Sohel cannot get release from jail, Anti-Corruption Commission's Lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.

He said the HC bench denied bail to Sohel considering the seriousness of the offence he has committed.

The case was filed with Tangail Model Police Station on September 16, 2018 against Sohel, Rashedul Haque and two others on charges of misappropriating and laundering Tk 9.28 crore from the bank.

Earlier on June 3, the same HC bench scrapped a lower court's order that granted bail to Rashedul Haque Chisty, son of former chairman of Farmers Bank's audit committee Mahbubul Haque Chisty, in the same corruption case involving Tk 9.28 crore.