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A special court in Noakhali has sentenced former Rupali Bank manager Md Abdul Majid to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for embezzling public funds.
Judge Md Shawkat Ali of the Noakhali Special Judge’s Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday, also imposing a fine of Tk 150,000. In default of payment, the convict will have to serve an additional 18 months of simple imprisonment.
The court also ordered the confiscation of assets worth Tk 124.15 million (Tk 12.42 crore), which it found to have been acquired illegally.
As Abdul Majid was absent during the pronouncement of the verdict, the court issued an arrest warrant against him.
The convict, 48, is the son of the late Aminul Haque of Kafilatali in Lakshmipur Sadar and served as manager of Rupali Bank’s Ramgati Bazar branch.
According to the ACC, Abdul Majid worked as manager of the branch from November 14, 2007, to January 31, 2013. During that period, he allegedly embezzled Tk 4.66 lakh from one short-term deposit (STD) account, Tk 49.61 lakh from another STD account and Tk 16.30 lakh withdrawn for payment of government employees’ pensions without depositing the money into the bank.
The anti-graft body also alleged that he violated banking regulations and initially embezzled Tk 70.57 lakh. A subsequent investigation found evidence that he had misappropriated a total of Tk 124.15 million.
Noakhali ACC Public Prosecutor Advocate Mohammad Zahir Uddin said the charge sheet was submitted by then ACC Assistant Directors Md Hossain Sharif and Mohammad Azgar Hossain after completion of the investigation.
The court sentenced Abdul Majid to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Section 467 of the Penal Code, another 10 years under Section 409, and five years under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, bringing the total sentence to 25 years.