Court Reporter:

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has upheld the bail granted by the High Court to economist and former chairman of Janata Bank Professor Abul Barkat, who was arrested in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The Appellate Division bench headed by Chief Justice Zubair Rahman Chowdhury passed the order, dismissing the appeal filed by the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner against the High Court order on Thursday.

However, the court set a condition that the passport be deposited in the subordinate court.

Senior lawyer Mustafizur Rahman Khan heard the appeal in the court.

The ACC filed a case against 23 people, including Abul Barkat, on February 20 last year on charges of embezzling Tk 297 crore from the Entex Group.

Abul Barkat was arrested at night of July 11, 2024, in this case. The ACC claims that former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman and Abul Barkat, in collusion, gave loans of Tk 297 crore to 22 companies of the Entex Group through forgery.

The case alleges that Atiur Rahman and his associates embezzled the money through various unethical methods. In this case, Abul Barkat applied for bail in the High Court after being denied bail in the subordinate court. After getting bail in the High Court, the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner appealed to the Appellate Division.