Destiny Group president and managing director, among 46 accused, are sentenced to different jail terms for embezzling Tk 18.61 billion through Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited.
President of the controversial company and ex-army chief Lt Gen (retd) Harun-Ar-Rashid got four years in jail and was fined Tk 35 million.
Conversely, managing director Rafiqul Amin received a jail term of 12 years and was fined Tk 2.0 billion.
A Dhaka court on Thursday awarded a minimum imprisonment to Mr Harun considering his noble contribution to the 1971 liberation war.
Judge Shaikh Nazmul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-04 delivered the verdict after concluding all the proceedings of the embezzlement case.
Mr Harun, Mr Rafiqul and seven others were present in the court. Thirty-seven others, including Rafiqul's wife Farah Diba, are absconding.
The court gave Mohammad Hossain 10 years and fined Tk 15 million, and Mohammad Gofranul Haq, Mohammad Said-Ur-Rahman and Mesbah Uddin Swapan also 10 years and fined Tk 1.8 billion.
It also sentenced Sayeed Sazzad to nine years imprisonment and fined Tk 300 million and Ifran Ahmed to nine years and fined Tk 1.5 billion.
Accused Diba, Engineer Sheikh Taybur Rahman and Nepal Chandra Biswas got an eight-year jail sentence and were fined Tk 400 million while Zamshed Ara Chowdhury got eight years and was fined Tk 350 million.
It also sentenced Md Zakir Hossain, Asad Rahman and Md Akbor Hossain to nine years and fined Tk 1.25 billion.
The court sentenced Abul Kalam Azad, Saidul Islam Khan and Mozibur Rahman to eight years and fined Tk 1.25 billion, Sumon Ali Khan to nine years and fined Tk 1.25 billion, Shirin Akhter and Rafiqul Islam Sarker to eight years and fined Tk 1.25 billion.
It also sentenced Lt Col (retd) Md Didarul Alam to eight years and fined Tk 15 million, Dr M Haidaruzzaman to six years and fined Tk 100 million, Zoynul Abedin to six years and fined Tk 50 million.
Fazlul Karim got five years in jail and was fined Tk 5.0 million, Mollah Al Amin four years and fined Tk 1.0 million, Shafiul Islam seven years and fined Tk 100 million, Ziaul Haq Mollah and Firoz Alam five years and fined Tk 1.0 million.
Omar Faruq got five years and was fined Tk 2.5 million, Sikder Kabirul Islam five years and fined Tk 1.0 million, Sunil Baran Karmakar eight years and fined Tk 50 million.
Farid Akhter got eight years in imprisonment and was fined Tk 25 million, SM Shohiduzzaman eight years and fined Tk 150 million, Abdur Rahman seven years and fined Tk 10 million, Maj (retd) Shakibuzzaman Khan five years and fined Tk 10 million.
SM Ahsanul Kabir Biplob and AHM Ataur Rahman were sentenced to eight years and fined Tk 100 million, GM Golam Kibria got eight years and fined Tk 50 million, Atiqur Rahman seven years and fined Tk 50 million.
Khandakar Benzir Ahmed, AKM Shafiullah, Shah Alam and Delwar Hossain got seven years' jail term and were fined Tk 10 million, Zesmine Akhter five years and fined Tk 10 million and Shafiqul Haq seven years and fined Tk 10 million.
The convicts' period in jail custody shall be deducted from the jail terms awarded to them.
Among the convicts, Mr Didarul has already served more than nine years in jail in the case against an eight-year prison term and fined Tk 15 million.
The court released him as he served out the sentence and the fined awarded to him.
The sentence of the fugitives shall take effect from the date of their arrest or surrender.
COURT FOR FAIR DISBURSEMENT
The court has directed the government to form a six-member committee to disburse the money among the affected shareholders and investors in a fair, transparent and equivalent way.
A retired judge of the Supreme Court will be the chairman of the committee. It will also include two joint secretaries of the finance ministry and Cooperatives ministry, a deputy inspector general of police, a chartered accountant as the members.
The registrar of the cooperatives department will act as the member-secretary of the committee.
Dhaka's police commissioner who earlier was made the receiver of some properties of the cooperative society was directed to hand over the possession of immovable or movable property, vehicles and all the income incurred from the property along with a detailed report to the committee.
The committee is authorised to sell the forfeited movable and immovable property in due process of law and the amounts shall be credited to in a bank account of the committee, also reads the verdict.
On March 27, the court fixed May 12 for delivering the judgment in the case.
On 31 July 2012, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed two cases under the Money Laundering Prevention Act with Kalabagan police station.
In one case, 46 people were accused of misappropriating Tk 18.61 billion under the cover of Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited Project.
In the other lawsuit, 19 people were accused of embezzling over Tk 22.57 billion through the Destiny Tree Plantation Project.
The court on 24 August 2016 framed charges in the two cases. Of the two, it gave the verdict in the Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society case on Thursday.
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