The Anti-Corruption Commission on Tuesday approved the filing of three separate cases against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, his wife Rukhmila Zaman, and their associates over the alleged embezzlement of Tk 141.30 crore through fraudulent banking transactions.

The commission approved the cases during a meeting at its Segunbagicha headquarters in Dhaka, said ACC Assistant Director (Public Relations) Tanjir Ahmed.

According to the ACC, the accused allegedly prepared forged documents to open bank accounts and carried out 27 fictitious ‘Bai-Murabaha’ transactions to misappropriate the money.

One case was approved against 16 people, including Saifuzzaman and his wife, on charges of embezzling Tk 41.62 crore by withdrawing the funds from the Agrabad branch of First Security Islami Bank.

A second case was approved against 27 people, including the former minister and his wife, over the alleged embezzlement of another Tk 41.62 crore.

The third case was approved against 16 people, including Saifuzzaman and his wife, over the alleged embezzlement of Tk 57.60 crore.

In total, the three cases involve the alleged misappropriation of Tk 141.30 crore through fraudulent banking transactions.