ACC grills four more ICL Group directors

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FE Report The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) interrogated four more directors of ICL Group Wednesday over allegations of Tk 9.50 billion embezzlement. ICL Group, the parent company of Ideal Cooperative Society Limited (ICSL), had collected money by assuring the clients of double profit but later embezzled the money. A five-member probe team of ACC led by its Deputy Director Nasir Uddin Ahmed interrogated them from 10:00am to 02:00pm at its headquarters in the city, the anti-graft body Public Relations Officer told the FE. The ICL Group directors who faced grilling are M Saifuzzaman Marshal, M Anisur Rahman, Abul Hashem and ATM Khurshed Alam. The ACC interrogated ICL Group chairman Rafiqul Alam, its directors Kazi Fakhrul Islam, Kazi Shamsun Nahar Mina, Md Ashraful Islam Imran, SM Morshed Jewel, and Sheikh Ahmed over the same allegation Monday and Tuesday. ACC probe team officials said that the ICL had allegedly misappropriated around Tk 9.50 billion from its 26,000 clients from 2001 to 2012. Following media reports on embezzlement, the company closed down many of its offices including the one in the capital. On February 25, ICSL clients found all its 33 branches in Dhaka, Narsingdi and Comilla closed without any prior notice. After the sudden closure of ICSL offices, the Department of Cooperatives (DoC) suspected that the ICL Group officials might have misappropriated money of the clients. The DoC on February 26 last filed a case with Paltan thana against the officials of the ICL Group. On August 21, the ACC served notices to 11 top officials of ICL Group, asking them to be present at the ACC head office during September 2 to 5 for questioning. On August 22, ICL managing director HN Shafiqur Rahman, also Jatiya Party (JP) central vice-chairman, was arrested by police in Comilla.