A Dhaka court on Tuesday sentenced nine people, including Hallmark Group Managing Director (MD) Md Tanvir Mahmud and its Chairman and Tanvir's wife Jesmin Islam, to life imprisonment in a case filed over the misappropriation of over Tk 525.62 crore from the state-owned Sonali Bank.
Judge Md Abul Kashem of Dhaka Special Judge Court-1 also sentenced eight more accused including a senior officer of Sonali Bank to 10 years' jail in the same case.
Others receiving life sentence include Hallmark Group General Manager Tushar Ahmed, T and Brothers Director Taslim Hasan, Max Spinning Mills owner Mir Zakaria, Paragon Group Managing Director Saiful Islam Raja, Nakshi Knit Managing Director Md. Abdul Malek, Abul Matin and Taslim Hasan.
Those sentenced to 10 years in prison are: Savar's Tetuljhora Union Parishad Chairman Md Jamal Uddin Sarkar; the then Sonali Bank's Dhanmondi Branch Senior Executive Officer Meherunnesa Merry; former GMs of the bank's head office Noni Gopal Nath, Mir Mahidul Rahman, MD Humayun Kabir; Deputy GM Moinul Haque; DGM Safiz Uddin; and AGM Md Kamrul Hossain Khan.
Though the court set February 28 for delivering the judgment of the case, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) submitted an appeal to the court to produce two more witnesses.
Accepting the appeal, the court later took testimony from the witnesses and set March 19 for final delivery of the judgment.
ACC filed the case accusing Hallmark MD Tanvir and others bringing the allegations of embezzlement of Tk 525 crore, 62 lakh and 92,800 with Ramna Police Station on October 4, 2012.
After investigating, ACC submitted chargesheet accusing 26 people on October 7, 2013.
A Dhaka court framed charges against the accused on February 17 and 27 in 2016.
A total of 11 cases were lodged in the Hallmark scam while the judgment of one of the cases was delivered on Tuesday.
