ACC asserts authority, clears first graft case against 10

After 166 days of institutional inertia, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has finally signalled a return to action under its new leadership, approving its first corruption case against 10 people, including former Padma Bank managing director and CEO Abdul Motaleb Patwari, over the alleged embezzlement of around Tk 2 crore through forged documents.

The commission, headed by retired Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, formally resumed activities at its headquarters on August 19. On Sunday, it approved the first corruption case after scrutinising the investigation documents, ACC sources said.

ACC Public Relations Officer Md Akhtarul Islam said that a case would be filed against the 10 accused for allegedly sanctioning a loan of around Tk 2 crore in the name of MH Enterprise owner Md Mominur Rahman using forged documents and subsequently misappropriating the money in collusion with bank officials.

“An amount of around Tk 2 crore was sanctioned in the name of MH Enterprise owner Mominur Rahman by submitting fake documents for dishonest purposes and the money was embezzled. The commission approved the case after examining all documents related to the investigation,” he explained.

The ACC’s investigation officer, Deputy Director Md Mostafizur Rahman of the ACC headquarters, is expected to file the case at the commission’s Dhaka-1 office within a day or two, Akhtarul Islam assured.

The accused are former Padma Bank managing director and CEO Abdul Motaleb Patwari; MH Enterprise owner Md Mominur Rahman; former First Assistant Vice-President George Cornelius Gomez; former Gulshan South Avenue branch manager (SDP) Md Russell Mia; former credit in-charge M Atif Khaled; former branch manager Mohammad Shamsul Hasan Bhuiyan; former manager (operations) Mahbub Ahmed; former credit in-charge (officer) Md Kawsar Hossain; Md Ajit Ullah of Mohammadpur; and another former bank official.

The case will be filed under Sections 409, 109, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Penal Code, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Section 4(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012.