HC orders arrest of fugitive officials

The High Court yesterday directed the government to arrest 15 fugitive top officials of Sonali Bank and Hall-Mark Group in seven days in connection with a loan scam.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed 11 cases against 22 top officials of the bank and Hall-Mark Group on October 4 last year for their alleged involvement in a Tk 2,686 crore loan scam.
The state-owned bank, on the other hand, is involved in a total of Tk 3,547 crore loan scam including that of Hall-Mark Group.
Seven accused, including Hall-Mark Group managing director Tanvir Mahmud and chairman Jasmine Islam, are now in jail.
The HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Choudhury Manik and Justice Mahmudul Hoque passed the order following a petition filed on
Tuesday by Nazim Ahmed, editor of weekly magazine Shoptoborna.
In the petition, Nazim Ahmed sought HC directives on the government to arrest the remaining accused for recovering the money.
After holding hearing on the petition yesterday, the HC directed the home secretary, inspector general of police and director general of Rapid Action Battalion to arrest the fugitives so that they
can be put on trial.
Nazim's lawyer
Eunus Ali Akond and
ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that Tanvir Mahmud has already confessed
that he took the illegal loan from Sonali Bank
by bribing the accused
officials of the bank.