Irregularities at NBFI: BB probe body asks ex-deputy governors to give statements

Bangladesh Bank's fact-finding committee has asked two former deputy governors to give their versions on the financial irregularities at a non-bank financial institution (NBFI).

The two former deputy governors, SK Sur Chowdhury and SM Moniruzzaman, who played different roles in the central bank when the scam was taking place at Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company (BIFC), will deliver their depositions to the committee today.

The committee, led by BB Deputy Governor AKM Sajedur Rahman Khan, was established on February 17 and has been looking into the scams that occurred at some NBFIs in recent years.

The central bank formed the committee as per the high court's instruction.

Md Serajul Islam, spokesperson and an executive director of the central bank, said that the committee had already called different former officials and board members of the BIFC.

It also asked some former and running BB officials to detect those involved in the BIFC scandal, he said.

As part of the process, the two former deputy governors of the central bank have been called by the committee.

In a 2016 probe, the BB found some former directors of the BFIC to be largely responsible for the institution's financial crisis.

The financial health of the BIFC, established in 1998 by a group of entrepreneurs led by Maj (Retd) Abdul Mannan, started to decline in 2008.

The BB found that scammers embezzled Tk 518 crore from the BIFC between 2005 and 2015 in the form of loans against 53 fictitious companies and individuals.

As majority of the borrowers were made up, the BIFC is finding it difficult to recover the money, said one of its officials, seeking anonymity.

The central bank removed Mannan's wife Umme Kulsum Mannan, also former BIFC chairman, and their two daughters, from the BIFC board between 2015 and 2016 for alleged involvement in sanctioning the loans unlawfully.

The central bank's committee has been empowered to interrogate any of its official to unearth the truth behind the financial scams at NBFIs.

At least 10 NBFIs are in dire straits due to massive irregularities.

Many of them have been unable to pay back depositors, despite the maturity of the fund.