Transcom Share Embezzlement Case: Simin gets bail
Staff Reporter :
CEO Simin Rahman and her mother Shahnaz Rahman on Wednesday surrendered before a Dhaka court and were granted bail in a case involving the alleged embezzlement of 14,160 shares of Transcom Group through forged signatures and stamps.
Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana granted them bail after a hearing. Earlier in the day, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sefatullah’s court took cognisance of the charge sheet submitted in the case against six accused.
As Simin Rahman, her mother Shahnaz Rahman and three others failed to appear before the court at that time, arrest warrants were issued against them.
An arrest warrant was also issued against another accused, Transcom Group Director Shamsuzzaman Patwary.
Court sources said that among the six accused named in the charge sheet, Transcom Group directors Md Kamrul Hasan, Md Mosaddek and Abu Yusuf Md Siddique appeared before the court.
Following petitions from their lawyers, the court granted them permanent bail. Later in the afternoon, around 3:30pm, Simin Rahman and her mother surrendered before the court. They appeared wearing black burqas and with their faces covered.
Their lawyers filed bail applications on their behalf, and after hearing the arguments, the court granted bail to both on a bond of Tk500. The court fixed February 2 for submission of a report regarding the arrest warrants issued earlier.
The case was filed on February 22, 2024, by Shazreh Haque with Gulshan Police Station. After investigation, PBI Inspector Syed Sajedur Rahman submitted the charge sheet to the court on January 11, naming Simin Rahman and six others as accused.
According to the charge sheet, a board meeting of Transcom Group was allegedly held in Dhaka on June 13, 2020, with an agenda that included approving decisions of the previous meeting.
participation through video conferencing, approval of electronic signatures and the transfer of shares owned by Latifur Rahman. Although Latifur Rahman was shown as being on leave in the attendance register, and Arshad Waliur Rahman’s signature appeared on the sheet, investigators found that Arshad was in Comilla on that day.
The charge sheet states that through decisions taken at that meeting, 14,160 of Latifur Rahman’s 23,600 shares were transferred to his eldest daughter Simin Rahman, while 4,720 shares each were transferred to his son Arshad Waliur Rahman and younger daughter Shazreh Haque.
However, Shazreh Haque claimed that no such board meeting took place on June 13, 2020. During the investigation, the accused failed to produce valid documents, notices or emails related to the alleged meeting.
Investigators also found irregularities in the share transfer process submitted to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC). The share transfer fee was paid late, and neither the donor nor the recipient was physically present during the transfer, in violation of the Companies Act, 1994.
The charge sheet further alleges that Simin Rahman used forged signatures, fake stamp affidavits and scanned signatures of family members to create documents and submit them to the RJSC to transfer most of the Transcom shares in her name.
Reports from the Postal Department and the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner’s Office indicated that some of the stamps used were forged, strengthening allegations of fraud.