Supreme Court stays bail for top Destiny officials Rafiqul Amin, Mohammad Hossain

The Appellate Division has stayed the bail order for two top officials of scam-tainted Destiny Group until Aug 11.

The five-member bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha gave the order on Sunday after hearing a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

On Jul 20, the High Court granted bail to Destiny Group Managing Director Rafiqul Amin and chairman of the group’s multi-level marketing (MLM) arm Destiny-2000 Ltd, Mohammad Hossain in cases of money laundering.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said the order means that the two cannot be released from prison.

He said the court stopped the bail until Aug 11 after hearing their plea over the High Court verdict and instructed them to file a leave-to-appeal petition by that time.

In July 2012, the ACC filed cases against 22 top Destiny officials for embezzling almost Tk 35 billion after duping numerous clients through schemes promising lucrative returns.

Amin and Hossain turned themselves over to a Dhaka court in October same year and pleaded for bail, but it was denied and they were imprisoned.

The two moved the High Court and on Jul 20 this year, the matter was heard, when the court granted bail.

On Jul 24, the ACC moved the Supreme Court’s chamber judge, who fixed Sunday for hearing the matter at a regular appeals bench.

The top court stayed the bail and allowed the ACC to file a petition to appeal against it.