The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday approved submission of chargesheets in two cases against 51 officials of Destiny Group for swindling nearly Tk 4,119 crore of investors’ money from two projects.
“The Commission cleared the chargesheets today as per the recommendation of an investigation report on Destiny swindling. The chargesheets will be submitted before court soon,” ACC commissioner M Shahabuddin told reporters at his office in the evening.
After a marathon investigation into Destiny Group swindling, an ACC investigation team submitted its report to it on January 6 last recommending submission of chargesheets against 51 people.
After filing two cases in connection with the swindling, the team conducted its investigation for over 17 months.
The chargesheet will be submitted in one case against 19 Destiny officials, including 12 officials who earlier sued for misappropriating Tk 2106.64 crore from the Destiny Tree Plantation Ltd project.
A total of 46 Destiny officials will be charge-sheeted in another case while 14 officials will be the common accused in both the cases.
The chargesheets will be submitted against Destiny 2000 Limited chairman Lt General (retd) M Harunur Rashid and managing director Rafiqul Amin, its directors Gofranul Huq, Sayed-ur Rahman, Mejbah Uddin Swapan, Syed Sazzad Hossain, Irfan Ahmed Sunny, Farha Diba, Jamshed Ara Chowdhury, Sheikh Tayebur Rahman, Nepal Chandra Biswas, former general secretary of DMCSL Zakir Hossain, former joint secretary of DMCSL Azad Rahman, former treasurer of DMCSL Akbar Hossain Sumon, Shirin Akhter, Lt Col (retd) Didarul Alam, Rafiqul Islam Sarkar, Majibur Rahman, Sumon Ali Khan, Saidul Islam Khan Rubel and Abul Kalam Azad and 29 Destiny officials.
As the ACC investigation found that the 29 officials were involved in the Destiny swindling, they will be named in the chargesheets, Shahabuddin said.
On July 31, 2012, the ACC filed two money-laundering cases against Destiny 2000 Limited chairman Lt General (retd) M Harunur Rashid and 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 Limited, including its chairman and managing director, under the Money Laundering Act 2012 for misappropriating over Tk 2,106 crore from the Destiny Tree Plantation Limited (DTPL).
ACC assistant director Toufiqul Islam filed another case with the same police station against 22 Destiny officials under the same act for the embezzlement of Tk 1,178 crore from the Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (DMCSL).
According to the investigation report, nearly Tk 4,119 crore of investors’ money was swindled out from the two projects of Destiny Group.
The report says the Destiny officials collected over Tk 2455.15 crore from its about 17.5 lakh investors by selling trees in different package under the Destiny Tree Plantation Limited (DTPL).
During field visits to the Tree Plantation projects, the ACC investigation team found only 32.5 lakh trees worth about 22 crore. The illegal earnings of over Tk 2433 crore was laundered abroad in the name of importing MLM products, and their personal accounts.
The report also says that the Destiny officials collected Tk 1935.5 crore from its 8.5 lakh investors under the Destiny Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (DMCSL) violating cooperative laws and rules.
The officials transferred over Tk 1,861 crore to sister concerns of the Destiny Group and their bank accounts from the project for their illegal gains.
Of over Tk 1,861 crore of laundered money, about Tk 44 crore was transferred to the Best Aviation Limited, Destiny Agro Industries Limited and Destiny Air System Limited.
Source: UNB Connect
