Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a chargesheet against four individuals, including three current and former officials of Agrani Bank’s Agrabad corporate branch in Chattogram, over the alleged misappropriation of Tk3.45 crore from a city corporation fund.
The accused are former officer of Agrani Bank Agrabad Branch (Clear Section) RafiqUddin Koraishi, Principal Officer Shubham Dewan, former Principal Officer Gazi Arifur Rahman, and a Brahmanbaria local, Suman Mia, according to the chargesheet filed in April this year with the Metropolitan Session Judge Court.
The ACC filed the chargesheet after a thorough investigation spanning three and a half years, led by the commission’s Assistant Director Faisal Quader.
According to the chargesheet, the misappropriation involved cheques drawn in the name of the mayor of Chattogram City Corporation (CCC). “Instead of depositing the cheques into the designated account for the city corporation, the accused Agrani bank officials deposited them into accused Suman Mia’s account, leading to the embezzlement of Tk3.45 crore,” Faisal Quader said.
Specifically, 41 cheques from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) amounting to Tk2.46 crore and eight cheques from various contractors totaling Tk99 lakh were diverted into Suman Mia’s account and subsequently withdrawn.
The anti-graft body stated that the embezzlement scheme began to unravel when Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, CCC’s chief accounting officer, noticed discrepancies and reported them to the bank manager.
On 17 November 2021, the ACC filed a case against RafiqUddin Koraishi for embezzling Tk87 lakh from the city corporation’s account. Initially, Koraishi denied any wrongdoing but later confessed to embezzling the funds.
According to the ACC chargesheet, the fraudulent activities were orchestrated through a savings account opened in Suman Mia’s name on 18 March 2015 at Agrani Bank’s Agrabad branch in Chattogram.
The ACC, in the chargesheet, has also recommended departmental action against CCC officials, including Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, Accounting Officer (Bills) Ashutosh Dey, and Accounting Officer (Budget) Masudul Islam, for their negligence in supervising the transactions.