Aman, Mamun get acquittal from prison sentence

The High Court has acquitted Aman Ullah Aman, an adviser to the BNP chairperson), from a seven-year jail term in a case filed over alleged extortion.

A High Court bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain handed down the verdict on Thursday (December 5).

Senior advocates Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Nazmul Huda argued on behalf of Aman, with legal assistance from Tariq Bhuiyan.

The case dates back to March 6, 2007, when a complaint was filed at South Keraniganj police station by Rafiqul Alam, a resident of Purba Aganagar, accusing Aman of extortion.

The allegations are related to an incident on June 26, 2004, where Aman was accused of collecting Tk5 lakh in two instalments in 2005.

Aman was shown arrested in the case on March 7, 2007, and the trial court sentenced him on May 8, 2008 to seven years of rigorous imprisonment along with a Tk1 lakh fine.

After the conviction, Aman appealed to the High Court in 2008, challenging the verdict.

On the other hand, the High Court overturned the seven-year prison sentence handed down to Giasuddin Al Mamun in a money laundering case and acquitted him of all charges.

The bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain delivered the verdict following Mamun’s appeal against the trial court’s decision.

The case, filed by the ACC on September 22, 2011, at Cantonment police station, alleged that Mamun had demanded an illegal commission from M Shahzad Ali, chairman of BTL and Globe Pharmaceuticals, in 2003 while finalizing a work order for the modernization of railway signalling by a Netherlands-based contractor.

Under coercion, Shahzad Ali deposited Tk6.01 crore into Mamun’s NatWest Bank account in London in 2004.

On April 24, 2019, the Dhaka Special Judge Court-3, presided over by Judge Abu Syed Dilzar Hossain, sentenced Mamun to seven years in prison, fined him Tk 12 crore, and ordered the confiscation of Tk 6.01 crore held in his London account.

Following his appeal, the High Court annulled the trial court’s verdict after hearing the case.

Mamun was initially arrested on January 30, 2007, and remained in custody until his release on August 6 this year.

The ACC filed a charge sheet against him on April 26, 2008, and charges were formally framed on October 31 of that year. During the trial, nine out of ten witnesses testified against Mamun.