Ex-army officer sued for Tk 60cr swindle

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday sued Maj Gen (retd) Jalal Uddin Ahmed and his wife, son and daughter for misappropriating around Tk 60 crore taken from 1,449 persons with return promises of Tk 2,000 per month for every Tk 1 lakh and of deposits on 10 to 15 days' notice.

Now a fugitive alongside his family, Jalal opened Dhara Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd in the capital's Banani in 2005, instating himself as the president, his wife Alia Fatema vice-president, son Talha Ahmed general secretary and daughter Radia Ahmed joint secretary, said the case statement and complainant.

Although he acknowledged by signing receipts over Tk 59.39 crore collected till 2013, no bank account was opened and the fraudulence came to light when some persons were denied return of deposits, prompting the victims to besiege the office in 2012, said ACC Deputy Director Jahangir Alam who filed the case with Banani police.

With most of the victims either retired or serving in the army's lower ranks and residents of Manikdi, Kafrul and Ibrahimpur, the Dhaka Cantonment authority got involved, he told The Daily Star.

Although the authority seized Jalal's passport last year, the undertaking they accepted from him assuring the money's return in phases by July 2013 was not complied with, he said, adding that ACC launched the inquiry this September and Jalal could not be traced despite assistance from police and the victims.