Proceedings of 2 cases can resume now
A Dhaka court has nullified its own stay order on all proceedings of two money laundering cases against 22 officials of Destiny Group at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court.
Judge Mohammad Zahirul Haque of the Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka on Sunday passed the order after a lawyer of Destiny Group filed petitions for vacating the stay orders.
The Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka had earlier said the CMM court had issued bails to five of the accused without having the authority and then issued the stay order on all proceedings of the case at the CMM court.
With Sunday's order, there is now no legal bar to file any petition with the lower court seeking bail for the rest 17 accused, a prosecutor said on condition of anonymity.
When asked about the order, ACC Public Prosecutor Kabir Hussain told The Daily Star yesterday that he was not aware of the matter.
He also said the court did not give him any opportunity to take part in the hearing.
According to the provisions of the Money Laundering Control Act, the court has to give both the prosecution and the defence an opportunity during the hearing on any petition, Kabir added.
In the petitions, advocate Kazi Nazib Ullah said a Destiny official Abul Kalam Azad, one of the accused in the cases, was earlier arrested and a seven-day remand prayer for him is pending with the lower court.
But the hearing on the remand prayer cannot to be held due to a stay order on the proceedings of cases. So, the stay order should be vacated, defence added.
The same court on August 13 stayed all proceedings of the cases following two petitions submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) challenging the legality of a lower court order that had granted bail to five top officials of Destiny Group, including its managing director.
In the petitions, the prosecutors said that the lower court has no jurisdiction over any petition submitted by the prosecution and the defence which meant that the bail order was illegal.
So, the prosecutors prayed for the cancellation of the lower court order.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court of Dhaka on August 6 granted bail to five top officials of Destiny Group in two cases.
Those five officials are: Destiny's Managing Director Md Rafiqul Amin and its Director Lt Gen (retd) M Harunur Rashid, Chairman of Destiny 2000 Mohammad Hossain and its two directors Gofranul Huq and Sayed-ur Rahman.
On July 31, the ACC sued 22 officials of Destiny Group for laundering Tk 3,285.26 crore by cheating investors.
Comments