Bangladesh court sentences Amber Group Chairman to prison

Showkat Aziz Russell, Chairman of Amber Group, has been sent to prison following his surrender in connection with a corruption case involving plot allocation irregularities in the Purbachal Residential Project. The order was issued by Judge Md Abdus Salam of Special Judge Court-9 after a bail petition was rejected.

On October 13, the court sentenced Russell, Partex Group Managing Director Ashfaq Aziz Rubel, and six former Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) officials to 14 years of imprisonment each in their absence. Russell and Rubel, sons of Partex Group founder MA Hashem, received seven years for abetting criminal misconduct and an additional seven years for abetting criminal breach of trust, along with fines of Tk10 lakh for each charge.

The six former Rajuk officials, including former chairman Iqbal Uddin Choudhury, were also sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined for criminal misconduct and breach of trust. The court ordered the cancellation of plot allotments to Russell and Rubel.