Ex-BASIC Bank chairman Bachchu skips ACC questioning, seeks time

Former BASIC Bank chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu has skipped the third day of questioning by the Anti-Corruption Commission in the investigations into a Tk 35 billion loan fraud.

Bacchu, who was an MP from the Jatiya Party, sought a month from the ACC on Sunday to face the questioning again.

ACC spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told bdnews24.com that Bachchu cited sickness as the reason behind seeking time in the application, according to which, he was undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka.

The ACC did not take any decision on the application until the evening.

File Photo: Abdul Hye Bachchu at the ACC offices in Dhaka's Segunbagicha on the first day of questioning on Dec 4.

The ACC opened investigations into the state-run bank after allegations surfaced that Tk 35 billion in loans were illegally released from the Gulshan, Dilkusha and Shantinagar branches between 2009 and 2012, when Bachchu was heading the bank.

BASIC Bank is accused of giving loans without collateral and using false documents and fictitious names and organisations in violation of the rules and regulations.

After nearly four years of investigation, the ACC filed 56 cases at three police stations in Dhaka, accusing 156 individuals, including 26 bank officials. The remaining ones are connected to lending institutions and bank oversight organisations.

But the absence of Bachchu and other prominent members of the board of directors on the list of suspects had prompted controversy, forcing the ACC to question the former chairman. 

After the questioning for the first day on Dec 4, Bachchu told the media that he believed he was not guilty of the loan fraud.

On the second day of questioning two days later, he was grilled for seven hours and ‘felt sick’ during the questioning.

On the same day, the ACC started another case over a Tk 78.5 million loan fraud which took place between March 2010 and October last year in the bank.

It did not name Bachchu in the new case either despite the Supreme Court’s ire over not including the ex-chairman of the bank in the 56 previous cases.