The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka has recently acquitted Mr. Aziz Al Kaiser, chairman of City Bank, of all three cases filed by his ex-wife, Ms Tabassum Kaiser, according to a press release issued by the bank on Saturday.

The charges, which included criminal breach of trust, cheating, and forgery, were brought against him in December 2022.

Upon careful consideration of the cases and a thorough assessment of the allegations, the court initially directed the Detective Branch (DB) of the police to investigate. Following a full inquiry, the DB found the allegations to be baseless and submitted a conclusive report in favour of Mr. Aziz Al Kaiser.

Undeterred, Ms Tabassum Kaiser filed an objection (Naraji petition) against the DB’s final report. Consequently, the court referred the matter to the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) for a re-investigation. After an extensive review, the PBI also failed to uncover any evidence supporting the charges against Mr. Kaiser; and on April 17, they submitted their final report to the court.

Despite yet another Naraji petition from the plaintiff, the court upheld the PBI’s findings, accepting their report and ultimately acquitting Mr Aziz Al Kaiser in all three cases.

In response to the verdict, when contacted, Mr Kaiser stated, “These were baseless allegations from the outset, motivated by malicious intent to extract substantial sums from me. While divorce is a reality in any marriage, Islamic Shariah provides a framework to address such matters. It is the duty of family elders to seek peaceful resolutions. Unfortunately, the elder brother and sister from my ex-wife’s side upon whom I relied failed in their responsibilities. I believe, they will be answerable to the Almighty for this.”

Mr Kaiser also suggested that there may be ulterior motives behind his ex-wife’s repeated submission of Naraji petitions, despite multiple investigations finding no grounds for the charges against him.