CHATTOGRAM, Feb 26, 2025 (BSS) - The Chairman of the Eastern Bank Limited
(EBL) Shawkat Ali Chowdhury along with 45 others including Directors,
Managing Director (MD) and senior officials of the bank were sued by a
businessman for embezzling allegedly Taka 11 crore through fraudulent means.

Murtaza Ali, a businessman and also a client of the bank, filed the case
before the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sarker Hasan
Shahriar on Wednesday (today).

The court took cognizance of the allegation and ordered the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) of police to investigate the matter.

The accused in the case are Eastern Bank Chairman Md Shawkat Ali Chowdhury
alias Disco Shawkat, MD Ali Reza Iftekhar, Directors M Gaziul Haque, Selina
Ali, Anis Ahmed, Mufakkarul Islam Khasru, Gazi Md Shakhawat Hossain, KJS
Banu, Zara Namrin, Dr Tawfiq Ahmed Chowdhury, Ruslan Nasir, KM Tanjib Ul
Haque, Khandaker Atique-e-Rabbani, Mahreen Nasir, Additional MD Ahmed
Shaheen, Assistant MDs Mehedi Zaman, Riyad Mahmud Chowdhury, M Khorshed
Anwar, Mahmudun Nabi Chowdhury, M Khorshed Alam, Mohiuddin Ahmed, Unit Heads
Md. Obaidul Islam, Mahdiar Rahman, Md Mainul Hasan Faisal, Transaction
Banking Head Md. Jabedul Alam, Head of Corporate Business Sanjay Das.

The other accused are the bank's Head of Planning Ashraf Uz Zaman, Chief
Financial Officer Masudul Haque Sarder, Head of Trade Operation Md Mokaddas,
Head of Banking Md Zahid Hossain, Head of Business Syed Zulkar Nain, Head of
Digital Finance Ahsan Ullah Chowdhury, Chief Technology Officer Zahidul
Haque, retired Major Md Abdus Salam, Head of Communication Ziaul Karim, Head
of Human Resources Monirul Islam, Head of Business Information Maskur Reza,
Head of Credit Risk Management Mostafa Sarwar, Company Secretary Md. Abdullah
Al Mamun, Managers of Chandgaon Branch Parvez Alam and Nizam Uddin, Manager
of 129-OR Nizam Road Branch Golam Mainuddin, Corporate Area Head Iftekhar
Uddin Chowdhury, Deputy Managing Director Chowdhury MAQ Sarwar, Senior Vice-
President & Head of Audit Md. Rezaul Islam.
 
According to the case statement, Md. Murtaza Ali, a businessman and Director
of Bhaiya Group of Industries, deposited Taka 5.20 crore in saving accounts
with Eastern Bank's 129-OR Nizam Road Branch in 2017.

According to the rules of the bank, he was supposed to get seven percent
profit on the savings, but the bank did not give it.
 
Later, when the deposited amount stood at Taka six crore 10 lakh after
accumulation of profit, Mortuza Ali transferred the entire amount to Eastern
Bank's Chandgaon branch.

In 2017 and 2018, he opened six FDRs (fixed deposits) of Taka 5.80 crore with
Eastern Bank's Chandgaon branch and applied for an OSD (Secured Overdraft)
loan against it.
 
During his stay abroad in 2019, he came to know that two fake savings
accounts and four fake loan accounts in his name with the Chandgaon branch of
the bank were opened by his fake signature and wrong information. Later, the
accused in connivance with each other sanctioned a loan amounting to Taka
nine crore 77 lakh 32 thousand 867 against his name and withdrew Taka five
crore 44 lakh 94 thousand.
 
The lawyer of the plaintiff Advocate Helal Bin Manzur said that the total
accumulated amount against the FDR has stood at Taka around 11 crore till to
date since 2017 and bank authority did not respond to pay the money to his
client even after the legal notice was served against the accused persons.