Top private sector bank Eastern Bank Plc has filed a Tk 200 crore defamation suit against one of its customers, Murtaza Ali. HM Hasan Mahmud, the chief officer of Eastern Bank’s legal department, filed a case in the First Joint Sessions Judge’s Court of Dhaka.
This information is known from the sources of Eastern Bank.
Earlier, Bhaiya Group of Industries director Md. Murtaza Ali filed a case against 46 people including the chairman of Eastern Bank, alleging embezzlement of 11 crore taka. He filed the case in the court of Chittagong Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sarkar Hasan Shahriar on February 26.
In the wake of that incident, Eastern Bank filed the case in question seeking an order to issue a decree of Tk 200 crore against Murtaza Ali. The court has ordered the issuance of a summons against the defendant.
In the case, Eastern Bank said that on February 26, the defendant in the case, Murtaza Ali, filed a false case in the Chittagong court against 46 people, including the chairman, managing director, directors, bank officials, of Eastern Bank, to tarnish the reputation of the bank. There are no specific allegations against anyone in the bank in that case. The case has been filed for harassment.
In the application for the case, Eastern Bank also mentioned that the incident of the false case filed by Golam Murtaza was propagated in print and electronic media. This has tarnished the reputation of the bank. All the directors of the bank are members of respected families, highly educated and established in the business sector. Murtaza Ali has filed this case mainly for harassment and tarnishing the reputation.
On the other hand, in the case filed by Mortuza Ali, it was said that in 2017, he deposited Tk 52 million as savings in OR Nizam Road branch of Eastern Bank. According to the bank’s rules, he was supposed to get 7 percent interest, but he did not get it. Later, when the amount of money including profit reached Tk 6.1 crore, he transferred it to the Chandgaon branch.
In 2017 and 2018, he made six FDRs (fixed deposits) totaling Tk 5.8 crore in the Chandgaon branch and applied for an OSD (secured overdraft) loan against it. While he was abroad in 2019, he came to know that two fake savings accounts and four fake loan accounts had been opened in his name in the Chandgaon branch of the bank. Using fake signatures and incorrect information, a loan of Tk 9.77 crore was taken from these accounts and Tk 5.44 crore was embezzled.
Although Mortuza Ali sent legal notices to the bank seeking the return of his dues, there was no response. He claims that he owes a total of 110 million taka to Eastern Bank since 2017.
