Tk582cr fertiliser scam: Ex-MP Poton, 4 others granted bail

Ten days after filing of a corruption case, former lawmaker and owner of M/S Poton Traders, Kamrul Ashraf Khan (Poton), and four others today got ad-interim bail from a Dhaka court.

The prosecution will challenge bail order with the higher court, said ACC Assistant Director (prosecution) Aminul Islam.

The case was filed against them on November 26 on charges of misappropriating 72,000 tonnes of government-imported urea fertiliser, valued at Tk 582 crore, during transportation.

The other accused are General Manager Shahadat Hossain and General Manager (Management) Nazmul Hossain Badal of M/S Poton Traders, North Bengal representative Md Sohrab Hossain of Poton Traders and its Khulna and Noapara unit's representative Md Ataur Rahman.

Judge Faisal Atiq Bin Kader of Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court granted them bail till January 15 next year after they surrendered before it, seeking bail.

On November 26, ACC Deputy Director Md Rafikuzzaman filed the case against them with the commission's Dhaka-1 office.

According to the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) investigation report, the corporation had an agreement with Poton Traders to deliver 3.93 lakh tonnes of urea imported from the Middle East to government warehouses in FY22. Kamrul Ashraf Khan is the owner of Poton Traders.

As per rules, fertilisers are supposed to reach the warehouses within 50 days of their release. However, the contractor never delivered 72,000 tonnes of fertiliser, the report says.

The ACC filed a case after the preliminary investigation following a directive of the High Court, to investigate the alleged embezzlement of fertiliser by Poton Traders, the contractor in charge of transportation of the import.

Last May, the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation filed a Tk 1,163 crore money recovery suit against Poton Traders for misappropriating 72,000 tonnes of imported urea fertiliser during transportation.

In June, the High Court also asked the ACC to prove the allegation and submit the probe report to the court within 60 days.

Earlier in July, a high-powered probe committee formed by Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation has found involvement of M/S Poton Traders, a contracting firm in embezzlement of 71,801 tonnes of imported chemical fertiliser.