The High Court has directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh Bank to dispose of within 90 days a petition seeking probe into allegations of large-scale bank fraud and money laundering involving Nice Spun, a concern of Noman Group.

The bench of Justice JBM Hassan and Justice Aziz Ahmed Bhuiyan issued the order and a rule on Sunday after hearing a writ petition filed by Anwar Hossain, a resident of Lohagara.

According to the petition, Nice Spun allegedly secured loans amounting to around Tk1,075 crore from banks by mortgaging property worth only about Tk50 crore in Maona mouza of Gazipur.

The petitioner submitted a complaint to the ACC in 2024, but no action followed, leading him to file the writ.

In the rule, the court asked the ACC to explain why its inaction in investigating the alleged corruption should not be declared illegal and why it should not be directed to conduct a probe into the reported bank fraud and money laundering.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Manzill Murshid, representing the petitioner, told the court that under Section 17 of the ACC Act, the commission is obligated to inquire into any corruption-related complaint, whether received directly or through other sources.

“Despite clear legal obligations, the ACC has taken no steps regarding the allegations against Noman Group. This failure is completely unlawful and amounts to encouraging corruption,” he said.

He further argued that although various media reports have repeatedly highlighted allegations of corruption amounting to thousands of crores against different entities of Noman Group, no investigation has been launched “for unknown reasons”.

The writ names seven respondents, including the ACC chairman and the deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank.

Manzill argued for the petitioner, assisted by advocate Sanjoy Mondal, while Advocate Anwarul Islam Badhan represented the ACC.