Loan scam: HC clears way for trail of Hall Mark GM

The High Court today cleared the way for continuing trial of Hall Mark Group General Manager Tusher Ahmed in nine separate loan-scam cases.

The bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Amir Hossain rejected a writ petition filed by Tusher seeking a halt to the trial proceedings of the cases against him.

In the petition, Tusher also challenged the legality of Section 31(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 under which the charge sheets of the cases were submitted to the lower court, as they were filed under the Money Laundering Prevention Act of 2009.

Section 31(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 has allowed the trial of a case even it was filed under the previous act of 2009.

The Anti Corruption Commission on October 7, 2013 pressed charge sheet before the trial court against 25 people for swindling over Tk 2,600 crore of Sonali Bank.

The accused include Hall-Mark Chairman Jasmine Islam, Managing Director Tanvir Mahmud, Tusher Ahmed, the then managing director of Sonali Bank, Humayun Kabir, and a union parishad chairman in Savar who issued fake trade license to the controversial business group.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that there is no legal bar for the Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka to continue trial proceedings of the cases against the accused following the HC verdict.

Meanwhile, Tusher’s lawyer AKM Fakhrul Islam told this correspondent that his client will move an appeal before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court against the HC verdict.