Gias Uddin Al Mamun acquitted in graft case

The High Court on Tuesday acquitted Md Gias Uddin Al Mamun, a businessman and close friend of BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman, in a corruption case in which he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment during the regime of the military-backed caretaker government.

The case was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) with a Dhaka court on April 5, 2007, on the charge of not submitting his wealth statement to the commission within its deadline.

On Tuesday, the HC also scrapped the trial court verdict that convicted Mamun on June 7, 2007 and sentenced him to three years imprisonment in the case.

The HC bench of Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah delivered the judgement after holding a hearing of an appeal filed by Mamun, who got released from jail on bail on August 6 this year after staying in custody for 17 years, challenging the trial court verdict.

Advocate Sabbir Hamza Chowdhury, the lawyer for Gias Uddin Al Mamun, told local media outlets that the HC acquitted his client on the ground that he could not submit his wealth statement as he was in the law enforcers' custody in 2007.

Besides, he said the ACC's notice seeking his (Mamun) wealth statement was illegal as it had given him only 72 hours to submit it. Usually, ACC grants 7 days to submit such statements.

Lawyer Sabbir Hamza said his client has been accused in a total of 22 criminal cases. Among those, 19 were filed during the military-backed caretaker government and three were filed during the regime of Awami League government.