The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court (SC) on Sunday asked two high officials of Destiny Group to deposit Tk 2,500 crore to the government treasury within six months to get bail in two money-laundering cases.The two Destiny officials are Destiny Group managing director Rafiqul Amin and Destiny-2000 chairman Mohammad Hossain.
A three-member SC bench, led by Chief Justice SK Sinha, passed the order the hearing a petition filed by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) against the HC order that earlier granted bail to the two officials.
During hearing Destiny Group lawyer Barrister Ajmalul Hossain QC said the company has 35 lakh trees in Chittagong hill tracts and the price of each tree is around Tk 8,000 on an average.
After the hering, Chief Justice SK Sinha ordered Destiny Group MD Rafiqul Amin and its chairman Mohammad Hossain to deposit Tk 2,800 crore to the government treasury within six months by selling the trees of Destiny Tree Plantation Limited (DTPL), otherwise the two Destiny officials will have to pay Tk 2,500 cash to avail the opportunity.
Earlier on July 20, the HC granted the six-month ad-interim bail to the two Destiny high-ups on certain conditions in the two cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Later, the ACC filed an appeal to the Appellate Division seeking stay on the HC order.
Later, a four-member SC bench stayed the order.
On July 31, 2012, the anti-graft watchdog filed the two money laundering cases against Destiny-2000 chairman M Hossain and the Destiny Group’s managing director Rafiqul Amin and 20 others on charge of misappropriating investors’ money amounting to Tk 3,285 crore.
ACC deputy director Mozahar Ali Sarder filed one case with Kalabagan Police Station against 12 officials of Destiny-2000, including its chairman and managing director, under the Money Laundering Act 2012 for allegedly misappropriating over Tk 2,106 crore from the Destiny Tree Plantation Limited (DTPL).
ACC assistant director Toufiqul Islam filed the other case with the same police station against 22 Destiny officials under the same act for alleged embezzlement of Tk 1,178 crore from the Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (DMCSL).
On May 4 this year, the ACC submitted charge-sheets before the court in the two cases.
The chairman and the MD of Destiny surrendered before a Dhaka court in connection with the two cases seeking bail on October 11, 2012.
