ACC sues Sikder family, others for Tk 110cr bank embezzlement

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against 26 individuals, including members of the Sikder family, for allegedly embezzling Tk 110.27 crore from First Security Islami Bank PLC.

The case was filed with ACC's Dhaka integrated office today, said the commission's Director General Md Akhter Hossain, at a press conference held at the commission's headquarters.

According to the case statement, Syed Kamrul Islam, an employee of the Sikder Group, opened a company named SQ Trading & Developer and obtained a trade license from Dhaka North City Corporation in 2019. A bank account was opened for the company at the First Security Islami Bank's Karwan Bazar branch on January 6, 2019. The introducer for the account was John Haque Sikder, grandson of Sikder Group Chairman Zainul Haque Sikder and son of former National Bank Limited director Ron Haque Sikder.

"The very next day, SQ Trading & Developer applied for a Tk 110.27 crore loan. Despite being a brand-new customer, the application was processed with unusual speed. Without any collateral being submitted, the loan was approved at the bank's board meeting. After nine days of the meeting, the full loan amount was credited to SQ Trading & Developer's account. On the same day, the entire sum of Tk 110.27 crore was transferred via three pay orders to three Sikder Group-affiliated companies: MS Construction & Developers, Mahbub Enterprise, and Mam Impex," the case statement added.

The complaint alleged that this entire process was a fraudulent scheme to misappropriate bank funds.

The accused include Sikder family members Ron Haque Sikder, Rick Haque Sikder, John Haque Sikder, Momtazul Haque Sikder and Lisa Fatema Haque Sikder.