Ex-envoy to UAE jailed for graft
The High Court has sentenced ATM Nazimullah Chowdhury, former Bangladesh ambassador to the UAE, to three years' imprisonment for embezzling state funds while in office.
It also ordered the former diplomat to surrender before the lower court in two weeks in connection with the case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission during the last caretaker government.
The HC delivered the verdict on Thursday after dismissing an appeal filed by Nazimullah challenging the trial court verdict. In November 2008, the trial court had sentenced him to five years' rigorous imprisonment in the case.
Talking to The Daily Star, ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said the lower court will now send the convict to jail to serve the jail term.
Another ACC lawyer Harun-ur Rashid said the HC has reduced the jail sentence of Nazimullah as a charge of misappropriating money that was to be used to purchase furniture for his residence was not proved.
Other charges of renting the ambassador's house and corruption in appointing gardeners at his residence were proved.
The ACC had filed the case with Shahbagh Police Station on May 14, 2008 against Nazimullah on charges of causing a loss of Tk21 lakh to the state exchequer.
Nazimullah was posted in Bangladesh mission in Abu Dhabi during the tenure of the BNP-led four-party alliance government. In 2010, he had secured bail from the HC in the case.
Abdur Razzaque Khan and Fida M Kamal appeared for Nazimullah.
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