Chargesheet against ex BASIC Bank chairman Bacchu, his family in embezzlement case

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved the charge sheet in a case against Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu, former chairman of BASIC Bank, and his family members, on charges of embezzlement and money laundering amounting to approximately Tk95 crore.

The chargesheet was approved at a meeting of the commission chaired by ACC chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah on Sunday (26 May).

The ACC's investigation revealed that on 8 July 2012, Bacchu made an agreement with Amin to purchase a 30.25 katha plot in the Cantonment Bazaar area. Despite the land's actual value being Tk110 crore, Bacchu paid only Tk10 crore at the time of signing the deed or contract.

According to the ACC, Bacchu attempted to conceal his illegal earnings by undervaluing the land by Tk94.75 crore in the registration, thus evading over Tk8.52 lakhs in tax.

This is the first chargesheet against Bacchu for illegally acquiring assets.

The case was filed on 3 October 2023, by Nurul Huda, deputy director of the ACC's Dhaka district office.

Other defendants in the case include Bacchu's wife Shirin Akhter, his brother Sheikh Shahriar Panna, his sons Sheikh Rafa Hye and Sheikh Sabit Hye Anik, and the owner of Hotel Le Méridien, Amin Ahmed.

Previously, in June 2023, the ACC filed chargesheets in court against Bacchu and 147 others in 59 loan scam cases filed nearly eight years ago, involving the embezzlement of Tk2,266 crore from BASIC Bank.

The ACC investigation found that Bacchu, along with various business owners and numerous officials, abused their power by taking loans from the bank against fake, overvalued, or non-existent collateral. The accused embezzled approximately Tk2266.68 crore from BASIC Bank under the guise of loans.

The accused include Bacchu, company secretary of the bank Shah Alam Bhuiyan, and 46 other bank officials, along with 101 borrowers. Bacchu and Shah Alam were involved in 58 of the 59 cases.

The High Court had previously expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in filing these charge sheets. In response, on 24 February, 2021, the ACC reported to the High Court that out of the embezzled Tk4,500 crore, Tk3,100 crore had been recovered and deposited into the government treasury.

The report also stated that the remaining Tk1,000 crore could not be recovered as the ACC was unable to trace the path of the laundered money.

Between 2009 and 2013, BASIC Bank experienced a loan fraud amounting to Tk4,500 crore, the largest loan scandal in the country's history in terms of the amount.

In 2015, the ACC initially filed 56 cases, and between 2019 and 2020, it filed three more cases against 156 accused.