Simeen Rahman, others exempted in one case, bailed in another

Transcom Group Chairman Shahnaz Rahman, Chief Executive Officer Simeen Rahman, and three other top officials were exempted yesterday from a case filed by the CEO’s sister.

In a separate case, five individuals, including Shahnaz and Simeen, were granted bail by a Dhaka court.

In the first case, filed over allegations of fraud through forged signatures, Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Sefatullah relieved Shahnaz, Simeen and three others after accepting a final report, according to a sub-inspector working at the court.

The three others are Zaraif Ayaat Hossain, son of Simeen Rahman; and Transcom Group directors Md Kamrul Hassan and Fokhruzzaman Bhuiyan.

The case was filed on February 22, 2024, by Simeen’s younger sister Shahzreh Huq at Gulshan Police Station against the five. Investigation officer Md Tariqul Islam, an inspector at the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), recently submitted the final report to the court.

The report said that Simeen is the complainant’s sister and Shahnaz is her mother. The complainant had alleged that the signatures of herself, her father Latifur Rahman and her brother Arshad Waliur Rahman were forged on a deed of settlement arising from a family dispute.

During his lifetime, Latifur, founder chairman of Transcom Group, executed the deed of settlement concerning the distribution of his shares and matters related to company management.

Forensic examinations conducted by the CID confirmed that the signatures of Shahzreh, Latifur, and Arshad were genuine. Based on this, the investigating officer submitted the final report, stating no evidence was found against the accused and recommending their exemption from the case.

Simeen’s lawyer, Mohammad Siddique Ullah Miah, said the complainant had received all the properties under the deed of settlement and had declared them in her income tax returns. “Two years later, those who wanted to damage the business reputation of Simeen Rahman and destroy the institution conspired with the complainant to file false and harassing cases. With this one, three cases have now been proven false,” he added.

Meanwhile, Shahnaz, Simeen and three officials -- Kamrul Hassan, Mohammed Mosaddek and Abu Yusuf Md Siddik -- were granted bail in another case concerning alleged fraud related to the company’s shares.

Magistrate Md Sefatullah accepted the charge sheet against six people, including Shahnaz and Simeen, and granted bail to the three officials. Later, Shahnaz and Simeen appeared before the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Jewel Rana and obtained bail. PBI Inspector Syed Sajedur Rahman had submitted the charge sheet to the court on January 11.

According to lawyers, of the four cases filed against Simeen, final reports have now been submitted in three, and she and the others have been exempted in all three cases by court orders.