Bail only after Tk 25 billion payback to investors, SC tells two Destiny officials

Two top Destiny officials will only get bail if they can pay up Tk 25 billion to investors, who suffered losses after putting money in the company's tree plantation scheme.

The Supreme Court on Sunday said Destiny Group Managing Director Rafiqul Amin and Destiny 2000 Ltd Chairman Mohammad Hossain will be granted bail only if they fulfil the payback condition.

The three-member appeals bench led by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha gave the order after hearing the Anti Corruption Commission's (ACC) petition against a High Court order, granting bail for the two Destiny bosses.

The court said the company has to pay the state Tk 28 billion within six week by selling the 3.6 trees at its plantation project in Chittagong Hill Tracts district of Bandarban.

The ACC has been told to inform the court about payback amounts reaching investors, only after which the two can be released.

The top court said in case of failing to manage Tk 28 billion by selling trees, they will have to pay Tk 25 billion to secure bail.

Destiny CEO Shamsul Haque Bhuiyan, who took charge after Rafiqul Amin was arrested, will supervise the selling of the trees.

The court told prison authorities to facilitate signing of necessary documents by the two top Destiny officials.

"The court has set a six-week deadline and given some conditions. They will be granted bail once those are met," ACC's counsel Khrushid Alam Khan told the media.

In July 2012, the ACC filed two cases with police in Dhaka against Destiny officials.

The ACC pressed charges on 19 persons in the Destiny Multi-purpose Cooperative Society graft and 46 officials in the Destiny Tree Plantation Ltd case.

According to the court documents, the company raised Tk 24.45 billion for its tree plantation scheme from 1.75 million investors.

The charges are that Tk 22.57 billion of the amount raised was embezzled.

For the Multi-purpose Cooperative project, Destiny collected investments of Tk 19.01 billion -- Tk 18.61 billion of that was embezzled, as a result of which more than 800,000 investors sustained losses.

The ACC found 722 accounts maintained by Destiny in 34 banks, where the funds had been transferred. These accounts were frozen later.

Charges of siphoning off Tk 960 million to foreign destinations have also been levelled in the cases.

On Aug 24, the trials kicked off after the indictment at the court of Dhaka's Senior Special Judge Kamrul Hossain Molla.

On Jul 20 this year, the two top officials secured bail from High Court on condition of depositing their passports with the government.

The ACC moved the Appellate Division against it, when the bail was stayed. On Sunday, the court gave its decision and disposed off the matter.