HC comes down hard on BB
Orders it to submit loan defaulters’ list in 15 days
The High Court yesterday came down heavily on Bangladesh Bank, directing it to submit a compliance report on its previous orders within 15 days, including one seeking the list of those defaulting on loans of over Tk 1 crore for more than 20 years.
Hearing a writ petition filed by the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, the bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader expressed deep dissatisfaction at the central bank for being non-responsive against a number of queries.
The queries, made around two and a half months ago, include the amount of loan interest waived and steps taken to stop irregularities in the waiving process.
The BB had also not responded to an HC rule for forming a banking commission to find ways on stopping corruption, irregularities and mismanagement in financial institutions, including banks.
Pointing to newspaper reports on the BB issuing circulars to provide benefits to defaulters, the HC questioned whether those were to bar the court’s orders.
The petitioner’s lawyer, Manzill Murshid, said the circulars were to shorten the list of defaulters and made the court’s orders ineffective.
BB’s lawyer Moniruzzaman said the central bank had sent letters asking banks to provide names of the defaulters and they would provide the court with a complete list once those were made available.
Yesterday’s court rule asked respondents to explain why their inaction to stop corruption, irregularities and mismanagement in all banks, including the central one, should not be declared illegal.
It also asked why it should not direct to take effective measures for preventing money laundering.
It questioned why a commission would not be formed comprising of former Bangladesh Bank governors Mohammed Farashuddin and Salehuddin Ahmed and deputy governor Khondker Ibrahim Khaled, former caretaker government adviser ABM Mirza Azizul Islam, former City Bank CEO Mamun Rashid and one representative each from Bangladesh Bank and the finance ministry to stop corruption, irregularities and mismanagement in financial institutions.