Bismillah Group MD, chairman and 6 others jailed in money laundering case
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A Dhaka court has sentenced Bismillah Group Managing Director Khaza Solaiman Anwar Chowdhury and his wife Chairman Nowrin Habib, along with six others to 12 years in prison each in a case over money laundering.
Judge Abdullah Al Mamud of the fifth Dhaka Special Judge’s Court issued the verdict on Thursday.
The others convicted were Solaiman’s father Shafiqul Anwar Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director Akbar Aziz Muttaki, General Secretary Mohammad Abul Hassan Chowdhury, Manager Riaz Uddin Shafi, Network Frame System Chairman Akhter Hossain and former Jamuna Bank Deputy Managing Director Mozammel Hossain.
Along with the prison sentence, those involved in the money laundering were fined Tk 2.48 billion. They will have to serve another year in prison in case of failure to pay the sum within 60 days.
Sohanur Rahman, a bench assistant of the court, said: “The accused are in hiding. The court has sentenced them and issued an arrest warrant against them. The court also ordered the confiscation of all the movable and immovable properties in the name of the convicts in favour of the state.”
Former Senior Assistant Vice President of Jamuna Bank Limited Morshedur Rahman and SM Zahidul Islam were cleared of charges as the charges against them were not proven, he added.
According to the case dossier, Solaiman and the others accused earned Tk 1.32 billion in the funded and non-funded sectors “illegitimately" and laundered almost $13 million against 132 letters of credit from that.
Khwaja Soleman Anwar Chowdhury and other accused have laundered about $13 million against 132 LCs of the "illegitimate" income earned in the funded and non-funded sectors.
In November 2013, Mohammad Al Amin, then deputy assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, filed the case with Motijheel police.
Following the investigation, a charge sheet was submitted to the court in June 2015. The court framed charges against the accused on July 30 that year and started the trial.