The court requests publication of a gazette asking the ex-chairman of BASIC Bank to appear on January 2

A court in Dhaka today asked the authorities concerned to issue a gazette notice asking former BASIC Bank Chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu and his four family members to appear before the court in a bribery case before January 2, 2025.

Anti-Corruption Commission Director Mohammad Nurul Huda filed the case with the Integrated District Office of Dhaka-1 on October 2 last year for embezzlement and money laundering worth around Tk 95 crore.

Four other family members asked to appear in court that day are Bacchu’s wife Shirin Akhter, his brother Sheikh Shahriar Panna, his sons Sheikh Rafa Hye and Sheikh Sabit Hye Anik.

Judge Md. Zakir Hossain of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka issued the order after Banani police filed reports stating that they had failed to arrest the suspects when they absconded.

On September 12, the same court issued arrest warrants for Bacchu and his four relatives as they were listed as fugitives in the case’s charge sheet.

The court passed the order after taking note of the charges against Bacchu and five others.

Another suspect, Amin Ahmad, has now been released on bail in the same case. Amin, the owner of Le Meridien Dhaka, was sent to jail on July 10 after surrendering in the case, while Bacchu and all his family members were on the run.

On May 27, ACC deputy director Mohammad Neyamul Ahsan Gazi, as well as the case’s investigating officer, filed charges against Bacchu and five others, including Amin, in the case.

According to the case statement, Bacchu bought a Katha land of 30.25 for Tk 110 crore from Amin, but two deeds showed that the value of the property was Tk 15.25 crore. Amin is said to have helped ensure that the land price was displayed lower than the market price.

Bacchu later transferred the land ownership to his wife Shirin and sons Rafa an Anik.

Bacchu tried to hide his illegal income while also underestimating the value of the land by Tk 94 crore (75 lakh) during registration, depriving the government of more than Tk 8.52 crore in revenue, according to the case statement.

On June 12 last year, the ACC filed charge sheets against Bacchu and 146 others in connection with 59 cases filed for embezzlement of Tk 2,265 crore.

However, the committee did not implicate the then board members who were at the helm of the bank when the massive embezzlement took place between 2009 and 2013.

Between 2009 and 2013, Tk 4,500 crore was defrauded from BASIC, once a healthy public bank. More than 95 percent of the amount was sanctioned by the board.

In 2015, the ACC filed 56 cases in connection with the scam, but curiously, neither Bacchu nor any of the board members were named as accused, even though multiple investigations showed their involvement. Later, four cases were filed.