Partex chairman’s son sent to jail in corruption case

A Dhaka court on Sunday sent Shawkat Aziz Russell, son of late Partex Group founder MA Hashem, to jail after rejecting his bail petition in a corruption case over plot allocation in the Purbachal project of the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK).

Judge Md Abdus Salam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-9 passed the order, said ACC prosecutor Khandaker Shamim Hossen.

Confirming the matter, Shamim said Shawkat, who was sentenced in the Purbachal plot corruption case, surrendered before the court and sought bail subject to filing an appeal.

However, the court rejected the bail petition and ordered his imprisonment, the prosecutor said.

Earlier, on 13 October, the same court sentenced Russell and seven others to 14 years in prison each in the case.

The convicted persons are former Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) chairman Iqbal Uddin Chowdhury, former RAJUK members SD Foyez (development), AKM Wahedul Islam (planning), SM Zafar Ullah (finance), HM Zahurul Haque (administration and land), Rezaul Karim Tarafdar (estate), and Russell's brother Ashfaq Aziz Rubel.

The eight accused were each sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk10 lakh for criminal misconduct. In default of payment, they will face an additional year of rigorous imprisonment.

They were also sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Tk10 lakh each for criminal breach of trust, with an additional year in prison in default of payment.

The sentences under the two charges will run concurrently, meaning they will serve seven years in total.

The accused were on bail when the verdict was announced but did not appear before the court. The court subsequently cancelled their bail and issued warrants for their arrest and to execute the sentences, he added.

RAJUK had allocated two 10-katha plots to Russell and Rubel, allegedly bypassing eligible applicants.

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According to the case documents, the accused RAJUK officials allegedly abused their authority to allocate the two 10-katha plots to Rubel and Russell, depriving eligible applicants of the opportunity. The irregularities allegedly took place between 23 August 2001 and 23 October 2014.

ACC deputy director at that time, Sylvia Ferdous, filed the case with Motijheel Police Station on 8 February 2017.

After completing the investigation, the commission's then deputy director Mirza Zahidul Alam submitted a charge sheet against the eight accused on 4 September 2018. The court framed charges against them on 26 August 2019, and ordered the trial to begin.