Plot scam: Hashem’s two sons, ex-RAJUK chairman jailed for seven years

A Dhaka court has sentenced eight people, including Shawkat Aziz Russell and Ashfaq Aziz Rubel, sons of late Partex Group founder MA Hashem, and former Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) chairman Iqbaluddin Chowdhury, to seven years in prison each in a plot allocation corruption case.

Judge Abdus Salam of Dhaka’s 9th Special Judge Court delivered the verdict on Tuesday.

The other convicts are former RAJUK members SD Foyez (development), AKM Wahedul Islam (planning), SM Zafar Ullah (finance), HM Zahurul Haque (administration and land) and Rezaul Karim Tarafdar (estate).

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

Russell is the chairman and managing director of Amber Group and president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA). Rubel is managing director of Partex Group and vice-chairman of City Bank.

Khandaker Shamim Hossain, counsel for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), said, “The eight accused have each been 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 default of payment. The sentences under the two charges will run concurrently, meaning they will serve seven years in total, the ACC lawyer said.

Court bench assistant Saiful Islam Mithu said the accused had been on bail but did not appear before the court on Tuesday. The court consequently cancelled their bail and issued warrants for their arrest and to execute the sentences, he added.

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.

The ACC’s then deputy director, 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.

During the trial, the court recorded the testimony of nine witnesses. The verdict was delivered after the accused were examined in their defence and arguments were presented by both sides.