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The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to Destiny Group Managing Director Rafiqul Amin in a case filed against him and others on charge of embezzling more than Tk 22.57 billion through Destiny Tree Plantation Project (DTPP).
The apex court, however, kept his bail petition as stand over (waiting for hearing) for six months.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order after hearing a leave-to-appeal petition filed by Rafiqul Amin.
Lawyer Shah Monjurul Hoque appeared for Rafiqul Amin, while lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) during the court proceedings.
Later, Khurshid Alam Khan said the court will hear the bail petition again after six months.
A High Court bench last year rejected Rafiqul Amin’s bail petition in the case. He then filed an appeal petition with the Appellate Division against the HC rejection order.
The Anti-Corruption Commission on July 31, 2012, filed two cases under Money Laundering Prevention Act with cathe pital's Kalabagan Police Station against the Destiny officials.
In one case, 46 people were accused of misappropriating Tk 18.61 billion under the cover of Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited Project, while in another case 19 people were accused of embezzling more than Tk 22.57 billion through Destiny Tree Plantation Project (DTPP).
The court on August 24, 2016 f,ramed charges in the two cases. Of the two cases, a Special Court in Dhaka pronounced the judgment in the Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited case on May 12 in 2022, while another case is under trial now.
The Special Court sentenced all the 46 accused, including Destiny Group President former Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen (retd) Harun-Ar-Rashid and Managing Director Rafiqul Amin, to different terms of imprisonment in a case filed over embezzling Tk 18.61 billion through Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.
Harun-Ar-Rashid was sentenced to four years imprisonment and fined Tk 35 million and Rafiqul Amin was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment and fined Tk 2.0 billion.
In March this year, a High Court bench granted bail to Rafiqul Amin for one year in the money laundering case.