Rongdhonu Group chairman’s wife, sons absent at hearing, court denies bail

Rongdhonu Group Chairman Rafiqul Islam’s wife and sons have been denied bail in a Tk 8.7 billion money laundering case after failing to appear before court despite filing a surrender petition.

On Tuesday, Jobeda Begum and her sons Kawser Ahmed Apu and Mehedi Hasan Dipu, who are accused numbers 2, 3 and 4 in the case, sought to surrender before Dhaka’s Chief Metropolitan Magistrates’ Court.

As the three did not appear for the hearing, Magistrate MA Azharul Islam rejected their bail pleas.

The case was called for hearing around 4pm, but the accused were still absent. Their lawyer told the court they were waiting outside the courtroom.

The magistrate then asked: “You’ve filed a surrender petition, but the accused are not appearing before the court?”

When the lawyer sought to withdraw the petition, the judge said the hearing had already taken place and the application could not be returned, denying their bail plea.

The CID filed the case with Gulshan police on Aug 7 against Rafiqul and others, accusing them of laundering Tk 8.7 billion.

The investigation agency also said it moved to freeze 13 bank accounts and seize 0.92 hectares of commercial space at Jamuna Future Park in connection with the case.

In October, after the fall of the Awami League government, a court barred Rafiqul from leaving the country amid an Anti-Corruption Commission probe into allegations of embezzling Tk 8.7 billion in loans.