Court issues arrest warrant against ex-MP Yussuf Abdullah Harun in share fraud case

A Chattogram court has issued an arrest warrant against former lawmaker Yussuf Abdullah Harun in a case filed over alleged share fraud and embezzlement involving a private sector company.

The warrant was issued yesterday (16 March) by Md Abu Bakar Siddique, a magistrate of the Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Court.

Confirming the matter, court bench assistant Md Abul Hashem said the warrant has been sent to the officer-in-charge of Banani Police Station in Dhaka for execution.

Harun, an Awami League politician, served as a member of parliament from the Cumilla-3 constituency.

The case was filed over allegations of share fraud and misappropriation involving a company named Incontrade Limited. Mushfique Al Masun filed the case on behalf of the shareholder of the company, Amirul Haque. 

The complainant and his wife acquired ownership of 500 shares out of a total of 2,300 shares of the company in 2006. However, when the company later increased its share capital in 2007 and again in 2009, the couple were allegedly not informed.

An investigation by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) found that the company's share capital was increased through forged resolutions without issuing notices for board meetings.

The report alleged that Harun subsequently allotted the newly created shares solely in his own name.

Investigators said the company's share capital was increased in two phases — first by 370,967 shares and later by 627,533 shares — allowing Harun to gain control of nearly 998,500 shares.

The market value of those shares has been estimated at around Tk9.98 crore, according to the investigation.

The PBI report said evidence was found of offences under sections 406, 420, 109, 506 and 34 of the Penal Code.

The investigation also found involvement of the company's managing director, Mohammad Mohsin Sarkar, in the alleged irregularities.

Following the submission of the investigation report, the court issued the arrest warrant against Harun. The case proceedings are currently under trial.

Harun has long been active in business and politics. He previously served as a councillor of the Dhaka Stock Exchange and was president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry in 1998 and again in 2003.

He is also chairman of Asia Insurance Limited and was re-elected to the position in 2011.

Harun was first elected to parliament in 2014 as an independent candidate and later returned to the legislature from Cumilla-3 in the 2018 election as a candidate of the Awami League.