Ex-IFIC director Badal acquitted in ACC case

Former IFIC Bank director Lutfar Rahman Badal has been acquitted in a corruption case filed almost a decade ago.

Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka's Fifth Special Judge's Court announced the verdict on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.

Badal's legal counsel Md Borhan Uddin told bdnews24.com that in the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with the Ramna Police Station in 2017, all the movable and immovable assets under the names of Badal and his wife Soma Alam Rahman were seized. He was granted permanent bail in the case on Aug 30, 2024. A year on, he has been cleared of any wrongdoing by a court verdict.

Borhan Uddin said that in 2017, the ACC issued a notice to Lutfar Rahman Badal to submit an asset statement. Since he was abroad at the time, his wife Soma Alam Rahman submitted a statement of assets to the court.

"The previous government filed a politically motivated case. At that time, he could not return home because the situation was not favourable. Now, he has returned home and received justice."

Badal's lawyer added that another case is still pending against him.

The graft case, filed by then ACC deputy director Sheikh Abdus Salam stated that Badal had declared movable and immovable assets worth Tk 1,302,723,396. However, the ACC investigation later found his total assets to be Tk 1,302,956,729, indicating that he had concealed assets worth Tk 233,333.

Also, the ACC alleged that Badal had illegally amassed wealth worth Tk 597 million.

Regarding Badal's immovable properties, the ACC said at the time that he owned two flats in Banani DOHS, a three-storey house on seven kathas of land in Baridhara Model Town, a flat in Dhanmondi, and a cold storage worth more than Tk 140 million in Munshiganj. Besides, he had movable assets worth Tk 14.2 million in banks and other financial institutions.