Hall-Mark boss flouts bail condition
ACC seeks her arrest again
Hall-Mark Chairperson Jasmine Islam had been granted bail in 11 cases last month in connection with the Sonali Bank loan scam, on condition that she would pay back to the bank Tk 100 crore every month.
But not only did she dodge the payment, she also filed several petitions with the High Court, challenging the very condition of her bail.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is now seeking to arrest Jasmine, whose Group swindled around Tk 2,600 crore out of Sonali Bank.
Legally, Jasmine is no more on bail and is a fugitive because she has flouted the bail condition, said ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan. “She is taking the advantage of some legal interpretations to remain out of jail.”
The commission will file a petition with the HC after its reopening on September 15, seeking its directive on the police to arrest Jasmine, he told The Daily Star.
Jasmine is the wife of Hall-Mark Managing Director Tanvir Mahmud, who is in jail in connection with the cases.
The Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka gave her bail after her lawyer Kazi Md Nazibullah Hiru said his client would pay Tk 100 crore every month to the state-run bank.
Nazibullah, president of Dhaka Bar Association, and another person were the guarantors of her bail.
Contacted, Nazibullah said Jasmine did not pay back the money as several petitions challenging her bail condition were pending before the HC.
Jasmine has submitted these petitions through some other lawyers, including barrister Rafique-Ul Huq, he said, adding that he did not know on what grounds the petitions were filed.
He said his client appeared before the Dhaka court on September 4, the day after her bail expired.
“We prayed to the Senior Special Judge's Court on September 4 not to pass any order against Jasmine Islam since several petitions were pending at the High Court," he added.
The court ordered Jasmine to inform it about the HC order on the petitions in a month, he said, adding that the Hall-Mark Group had paid back to Sonali Bank Tk 410 crore much before Jasmine got the bail.
Rafique-Ul Huq, who appeared for Jasmine before the HC, said he did not appear in the lower court and so he was unaware if Jasmine's bail was extended or not.
He added he submitted only one petition on Jasmine's behalf to the HC, challenging the bail condition.
Earlier on February 19, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka sent Jasmine to jail after she surrendered before it.
The ACC in October last year filed the cases against 27 top officials of Sonali Bank and Hall-Mark Group for their involvement in the scam.
According to a Bangladesh Bank investigation in May 2012, Hall-Mark and five other companies in connivance with some bank officials had taken Tk 3,547 crore in loans from Sonali Bank's Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch, using forged documents.
Of the sum, Hall-Mark alone took around Tk 2,600 crore.
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