HC summons Basic Bank scam investigation officers

The High Court on Wednesday summoned all the investigation officers (IO) of 56 graft cases filed over the BASIC Bank loan scam to appear before it on Wednesday next.

The HC bench of justice M Enayetur Rahim and justice Shahidul Karim asked the IOs, including Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) director Syed Iqbal Hossain, to appear before it to explain their position over why they could not finish investigation on scheduled time.

The court also asked them to appear along with all documents of the cases, said ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam.

He said as per the law, an investigation officer can take a maximum of 180 days to finish his task but the investigation of the cases could not be finished even after two and half years.

The ACC filed 56 cases with three police stations in the capital accusing more than 100 individuals, including 26 bank officials, in September 2015 while the commission filed another five cases last year.

On 14 July, 2014, the central bank sent a report to the ACC about the detail of embezzlement and found the bank’s former chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu's illegal influence in all the activities of the bank.

According to an inquiry of Bangladesh Bank, about Tk 4.5 billion was swindled out of Basic Bank during the six years Bachhu served as its chairman.

He resigned on 4 July 2014, after the finance ministry had sent a letter to the Bangladesh Bank to dissolve the then existing committee of the bank on 29 May, 2014.

Source: unb