TBT DESK: The High Court has acquitted former IFIC Bank chairman, sports organizer and businessman Lutfar Rahman Badal in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for acquiring assets beyond known sources of income.

Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of the Fifth Special Judge's Court in Dhaka announced the verdict on Tuesday (October 21).

In the case filed in 2017 at Ramna Police Station, the ACC had seized all the movable and immovable assets in the names of Badal and his wife Soma Alam Rahman. He was granted permanent bail in the case on August 30, 2024. After almost a year and two months, he was completely acquitted by the court's verdict on Tuesday.

In its verdict, the court observed that the then government had intentionally harassed Badal by filing a case against him. He was a victim of political vendetta because of his personal acquaintance with Arafat Rahman Coco's business partner and his family. In the court's words, the previous government had personally harassed him because of his association with the BNP.

Businessman Badal's lawyer, Advocate Md. Borhan Uddin, said after the verdict was announced that in 2017, the ACC had sent a notice to his client to submit an asset statement. At that time, Lutfor Rahman was abroad, so his wife Soma Alam Rahman submitted an asset statement to the court. The lawyer said that a total of 67 documents were submitted to the court, which mentioned information about all the immovable assets. He also said that the previous government filed a false case due to political vendetta. Lutfor Rahman Badal could not return to the country at that time due to the bad internal situation. But he returned with faith in the law and got justice.

According to the lawyer, Lutfar Rahman Badal hopes that he will receive similar justice from the court in other harassment cases filed against him.