A Dhaka court today asked authorities concerned to issue an official gazette asking former BASIC Bank chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu and his four family members to appear before it by January 2 2025 in a corruption case.

Anti-Corruption Commission director Mohammad Nurul Huda filed a complaint at his integrated district office in Dhaka-1 on October 2 last year for misappropriation of funds and money laundering of around `95 crore by Tk.

Four other family members who were asked to appear in court that day are Bacchu’s wife Shirin Akhter, his brother Sheikh Shahriar Panna, his sons Sheikh Rafa Hye and Sheikh Sabit Hye Anik.

Justice Md Zakir Hossain of the Dhaka Metropolitan Court issued the order after the Banani police submitted reports that they failed to arrest the accused while they were in hiding.

On September 12, the same court issued arrest warrants for Bacchu and his four family members, as they were named fugitives in the indictment.

The court passed the order after taking cognizance of the charges against Bacchu and five others.

Another accused, Amin Ahmad, is now out on bail in the same case. Amin, the owner of Le Méridien Dhaka, was sent to jail on July 10 after his surrender in the case while Bacchu and all his family members are on the run.

On May 27, ACC Deputy Director Mohammad Neyamul Ahsan Gazi, along with the investigator in charge of the case, filed a complaint against Bacchu and five others, including Amin, in the case.

According to the record, Bacchu purchased a 30.25 katha land for Tk 110 crore from Amin, but two deeds showed the value of the property to be Tk 15.25 crore. Amin allegedly helped ensure that the price of the land was lower than the market price.

Bacchu then transferred land ownership to his wife Shirin and sons Rafa an Anik.

Bacchu tried to hide his illegal income while underestimating the value of the land to Tk 94 crore (75 lakh) during registration, depriving the government of over Tk 8.52 crore in income, according to the filing .

On June 12 last year, the ACC submitted chargesheets against Bacchu and 146 others in 59 cases filed for misappropriation of funds of Taka 2,265 crore.

The commission, however, did not implicate the then board members who were at the helm of the bank when the massive embezzlement took place between 2009 and 2013.

Between 2009 and 2013, Tk 4,500 crore was swindled from BASIC, once a healthy state-owned bank. Of this amount, more than 95 percent was approved by the board of directors.

In 2015, ACC filed 56 complaints related to this scam, but curiously, neither Bacchu nor any of the board members were named as defendants, although several investigations indicated their involvement. Later, four cases were filed.