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US court stays arrest warrant for Salehuddin, Ahsan Mansur

FE REPORT | October 27, 2024 00:00:00


A Washington court has stayed a warrant of arrest for finance and commerce adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed and central bank governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur.

The action followed swift intervention by attorneys representing Bangladesh in the US on Friday.

District judge Carl J Nichols earlier directed the US Marshals Service to detain the duo within 24 hours.

The warrant came at a time when they were in the US capital attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group from October 21 to October 26.

However, it marked Bangladesh's first court appearance since the case was filed in 2006, and the government contested the issuance of the warrant.

Dr Ahmed and Dr Mansur found themselves in a precarious situation in Washington, forced to be on the safe side to evade capture.

The case relates to Smith Cogeneration (Bangladesh) Pvt Ltd, which was awarded a contract for a barge-mounted power plant in northern Bangladesh during the Awami League government's tenure in 1997.

The Financial Express reached out to Dr Mansur on the latest development.

He expressed relief that the US court suspended the arrest warrant, stating: "We faced some problems following the (issuance of a) sudden warrant, but our attorneys acted swiftly and the court stayed its order."

Dr Mansur noted that a hearing was scheduled for Sunday.

Earlier, journalist Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey, who was recently appointed as an envoy under foreign ministry, reported the suspension of the warrant on his Facebook handle.

Smith Cogeneration had filed the case in the US court seeking compensation for the cancellation of a contract with the Awami League government, he explained.

The company signed a power purchase agreement in 1997 to construct a barge-mounted power plant in northern Bangladesh.

After nearly 25 years into the litigation, the Washington DC Circuit Court issued a largely non-jurisdictional ruling, which was stayed by the court on Friday, wrote Mr Ansarey who had long advocated Bangladesh's democracy and human rights during regular press briefings of the US State Department.

According to Law 360, a US-based legal news outlet, judge Nichols granted Smith Cogeneration's request to detain the officials, referring to them as "two of the most senior leaders" of Bangladesh's financial sector.

Bangladesh condemned the judge's decision during the hearing to allow the power company's request for detention on such a short notice, stating that the court's action disrupted their essential duties on behalf of a sovereign state.

Smith Cogeneration is represented by attorneys from Duane Morris LLP and Kalberer LLP, while Bangladesh is represented by lawyers from Foley Hoag LLP.

The case is titled 'Smith Cogeneration (Bangladesh) Pvt Ltd vs Bangladesh Power Development Board et al', case number 1:06-cv-01827, in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

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