A Dhaka court on Thursday issued a travel ban on 23 people, including Dr Atiur Rahman, Bangladesh Bank's former governor; Dr Abul Barkat, Janata Bank's former chairman; and Abdus Salam Azad, former Managing Director of Janata Bank, in connection with a corruption case filed against them.
Md Zakir Hossain, judge of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka, passed the order after hearing a petition filed by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Earlier on the day, the investigation officer of the case - ACC assistant director Mohammad Shahjahan Miraj - filed a petition seeking travel ban on them. Mohammad Akhtarul Islam, ACC deputy director (public relations) and spokesperson, confirmed the court order to the FE.
On February 20, the ACC filed a case against Atiur, Barkat, and 21 others over alleged embezzlement of more than Tk 2.97 billion in the name of AnonTex Group.
The accused, in collusion with one another, engaged in fraud and forgery to create false records and embezzled over Tk 2.97 billion from the corporate branch of the state-owned Janata Bank.
The petitioner said, "The case is now under investigation. But the ACC came to know that the accused are trying to flee the country. If the accused can flee the country then the investigation might be prolonged and hampered. So for the interest of proper investigation into the case, a travel ban needs to be issued on the accused."
The other accused include Abu Hena Mohammed Razee Hassan, former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank (BB), and Musammet Ismat Ara Begum, former assistant director of BB.
Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Md Emdadul Hoque, Nagibul Islam Dipu, RM Debnath, Md Abu Naser, Sangita Ahmed, and Nitai Chandra Nat, all of whom were former Janata Bank directors, are also among the accused. Md Yunus Badal, AnonTex Group chairman; Anwar Hossain, Suprov Spinning Ltd managing director; and Md Abu Talha, director; have also been implicated.
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