A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants against 25 individuals, including former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman, in a case over the alleged embezzlement of about Tk531 crore in the name of the Annontex Group.

The warrants were issued on last Thursday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Fayez, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) prosecutor Mohammad Tarikul Islam confirmed on Tuesday.

He said that of the 26 accused named in the charge sheet, former Janata Bank Chairman Dr Abul Barakat has already been arrested and is currently in jail.

As the remaining 25 accused are absconding, the court issued arrest warrants against them and directed the authorities to submit a report by March 4 on whether they could be arrested.

Those facing arrest warrants include former Bangladesh Bank Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohammad Razi Hasan; former Assistant Director Mosammat Ismat Ara Begum; former Janata Bank directors Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Md Imdadul Haque, Nagibul Islam Dipu, R M Debnath, Md Abu Naser, Sangeeta Ahmed and Professor Nitai Chandra Nath; former Janata Bank Managing Director and CEO Abduchchalam Azad; former Deputy General Manager Azmul Haque; former AGM Ajay Kumar Ghosh; former Manager (Industrial Loan-1) Md Golam Azam; Executive Engineer Md Shahjahan; SEO Md Emdadul Haque; former Deputy General Manager Md Abdul Jabbar; former DMDs Md Golam Faruq and Omar Faruq; Annontex Group Chairman Md Yunus Badal; Suprabh Spinning Limited Managing Director Md Anwar Hossain; and Director Md Abu Talha.

On February 20 last year, ACC Deputy Director Nazmul Hossain filed a case against Abul Barakat and 22 others over the alleged embezzlement of Tk297 crore in the name of the Annontex Group.

According to the ACC, former Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman and Abul Barakat, acting in collusion, facilitated loans for 22 Annontex Group institutions through fraudulent means and later misappropriated the funds using various unethical methods.

On October 20 last year, a charge sheet was submitted against Abul Barakat and 26 others.

The charge sheet alleges that the accused embezzled about Tk531 crore from Janata Bank PLC by creating false records through deception and forgery. With interest, the amount has risen to approximately Tk1,130 crore. However, the amount cited in the first information report was Tk297 crore.