TDS Desk

A legal dispute has emerged involving allegations that forged non-judicial stamps were used to prepare documents for the transfer of a majority of shares in Transcom Limited, which were subsequently submitted to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC). Reports submitted by the Dhaka District Commissioner’s Office and the Postal Department to the court confirm these claims.

The case accuses Simeen Rahman, CEO of Transcom Group, along with five other officials, of orchestrating the forgery. Allegedly, fraudulent documents were created using the forged signature of Shahzreh Huq, the youngest daughter of Transcom’s founder, Latifur Rahman.

A hearing was held yesterday (Thursday) regarding an application by the case investigator, PBI Sub-Inspector Sajedur Rahman, seeking forensic analysis of the forged signatures. However, Magistrate Sharifur Rahman of the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court rejected the request for forensic testing.

BACKGROUND OF THE CASE

In February, Shahzreh Huq filed a complaint with Gulshan Police Station, accusing her elder sister, Simeen Rahman, of forgery and fraudulently seizing the majority of Transcom’s shares.

Shahzreh Huq’s lawyer, Aminul Haque, stated that documents seized by the investigation officer from RJSC reveal that Latifur Rahman’s wife, Shahnaz Rahman, filed share transfer documents in Simeen Rahman’s name through her lawyer, Nazrul Islam, on 2 September 2020.

However, the court sought verification of the authenticity of the stamps used in the documents. The Dhaka District Commissioner’s report revealed that the vendor responsible for supplying the stamps had their licence cancelled on 13 December 2020. Furthermore, the vendor had not issued or recorded any stamps in 2020 due to the pandemic.

FINDINGS ON THE STAMPS

Following the court’s directive, the Postal Department submitted a report on 2 December. Assistant Controller of Stamps, Shubhro Sutradhar, confirmed that the stamps in question were issued in May 2023 by the Security Printing Corporation (Bangladesh) Limited.

This discrepancy undermines the claim that the stamps were used in 2020 to transfer shares, casting doubt on the allegations against Simeen Rahman. Her lawyer, Siddiq Ullah Mia, argued that the case is baseless given the timeline provided by the Postal Department.

STATEMENT FROM THE PLAINTIFF

Shahzreh Huq stated that her father, Latifur Rahman, owned 23,600 shares of Transcom Limited at the time of his passing on 1 July 2020. According to Islamic inheritance laws, she and her brother, Arshad Waliur Rahman, are rightful heirs to these shares. She alleged that Simeen Rahman, with the help of Transcom officials, forged documents to unlawfully transfer the majority of the shares to herself, depriving the other heirs.

Shahzreh claims the fraudulent documents, including three Form-117 transfer deeds, were submitted to RJSC by Kamrul Hasan, another defendant in the case. She further alleged that two other defendants, Mohammad Mosaddek and Abu Yusuf Md Siddique, signed the forged documents as witnesses.