Rapid Action Battalion on Sunday night arrested Hallmark Group Managing
Director Tanvir Mahmud in Mirpur on charge of taking loan from Sonali
Bank against phony collateral.
RAB's Media and Legal Wing Director Commander M Sohail confirmed bdnews24.com the arrest of the first high-profile official in Bangladesh's biggest bank scandal.
Mahmud was detained around 9:30pm from the house of one 'Pavel' on road 2 of Mirpur-6. Mahmud's brother-in law Tusher Ahmed, the Hallmark General Manager and the third accused in the corruption case, was also arrested with him.
The MD was hiding in the two-room flat on the fourth floor of the five-storied apartment building.
RAB found five BlackBerry mobile-phone sets, a foreign pistol loaded with four rounds of bullets and over Tk 0.2 million in cash on him, said Sohail.
When asked about his relations with Pavel, Mahmud said he was taken there by one of his employees and that he did not know Pavel.
Sohail said they will hand over Mahmud to police after the formalities.
On Oct 11, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed 11 cases against 27 people, including Mahmud and a former Manager of Sonali Bank, after investigations pointed to their collaboration in misappropriating over Tk 15.68 billion taken as loan through forgery.
Seven of the accused are Hallmark officials while the rest are from the largest state-owned commercial bank.
Investigators are set to submit their reports before court on Nov 18, 19 and 20 in connection with the cases.
State-run news agency BSS said the elite force raided Mahmud's favourite retreat at Nandokhali in Hemayetpur of Savar in the early hours of Sunday, but did not find him there.
RAB-4 Camp Commander at Nabinagar in Savar Tahsin Salehin said they launched the raid tipped off that Tanvir was staying in his factory at Hemayetpur. The raid lasted until 5am from 2:30am.
The scam surfaced after Bangladesh Bank in May revealed branches of the state-owned commercial bank had given out over Tk 36 billion to little-known textile firm Hallmark Group and five other dubious organisations between 2010 and 2012. Hallmark Group alone took Tk 26.86 billion of the sum.
A six-strong special ACC investigation team headed by Deputy Director Mir Joynal Abedin Shibli investigated the scandal.
On Oct 2, Mahmud had admitted before a Parliamentary Sub-Committee on the Ministry of Finance that they took loans from Sonali Bank flouting rules.
Sonali Bank suspended a couple of General Managers and 18 other officials on Aug 30 for their alleged link with the scam. The bank has also asked the Group to return the credit money.
ACC also interrogated Prime Minister's Health and Family Affairs Advisor Syed Modasser Ali after newspapers reported that he had influenced the disbursement of the loan and frequented the branch.
The graft-busters on Sept 26 also quizzed several members of the bank's Board of Directors who also held the bank's management responsible.
They said the board on Jan 2, 2011 had issued an order banning issue of Inland Bill Purchase (IBP). But the Hallmark Group was given the loan violating that order as the board had based its decision on the information provided by the management.
RAB's Media and Legal Wing Director Commander M Sohail confirmed bdnews24.com the arrest of the first high-profile official in Bangladesh's biggest bank scandal.
Mahmud was detained around 9:30pm from the house of one 'Pavel' on road 2 of Mirpur-6. Mahmud's brother-in law Tusher Ahmed, the Hallmark General Manager and the third accused in the corruption case, was also arrested with him.
The MD was hiding in the two-room flat on the fourth floor of the five-storied apartment building.
RAB found five BlackBerry mobile-phone sets, a foreign pistol loaded with four rounds of bullets and over Tk 0.2 million in cash on him, said Sohail.
When asked about his relations with Pavel, Mahmud said he was taken there by one of his employees and that he did not know Pavel.
Sohail said they will hand over Mahmud to police after the formalities.
On Oct 11, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed 11 cases against 27 people, including Mahmud and a former Manager of Sonali Bank, after investigations pointed to their collaboration in misappropriating over Tk 15.68 billion taken as loan through forgery.
Seven of the accused are Hallmark officials while the rest are from the largest state-owned commercial bank.
Investigators are set to submit their reports before court on Nov 18, 19 and 20 in connection with the cases.
State-run news agency BSS said the elite force raided Mahmud's favourite retreat at Nandokhali in Hemayetpur of Savar in the early hours of Sunday, but did not find him there.
RAB-4 Camp Commander at Nabinagar in Savar Tahsin Salehin said they launched the raid tipped off that Tanvir was staying in his factory at Hemayetpur. The raid lasted until 5am from 2:30am.
The scam surfaced after Bangladesh Bank in May revealed branches of the state-owned commercial bank had given out over Tk 36 billion to little-known textile firm Hallmark Group and five other dubious organisations between 2010 and 2012. Hallmark Group alone took Tk 26.86 billion of the sum.
A six-strong special ACC investigation team headed by Deputy Director Mir Joynal Abedin Shibli investigated the scandal.
On Oct 2, Mahmud had admitted before a Parliamentary Sub-Committee on the Ministry of Finance that they took loans from Sonali Bank flouting rules.
Sonali Bank suspended a couple of General Managers and 18 other officials on Aug 30 for their alleged link with the scam. The bank has also asked the Group to return the credit money.
ACC also interrogated Prime Minister's Health and Family Affairs Advisor Syed Modasser Ali after newspapers reported that he had influenced the disbursement of the loan and frequented the branch.
The graft-busters on Sept 26 also quizzed several members of the bank's Board of Directors who also held the bank's management responsible.
They said the board on Jan 2, 2011 had issued an order banning issue of Inland Bill Purchase (IBP). But the Hallmark Group was given the loan violating that order as the board had based its decision on the information provided by the management.