‘Loan Fraud’: ACC seeks info on 14 firms from BB, Islami Bank

The Anti-Corruption Commission has written to Bangladesh Bank and Islami Bank seeking information on 14 companies, including 11 of Nabil Group, regarding embezzlement of crores of taka from the Shariah-based bank through alleged loan fraud.

The central bank and the Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL) have been asked to provide the information within seven working days after receiving the letters from the graft watchdog.

The letters were sent yesterday.

The Nabil Group companies include Nabil Naba Foods Ltd, Nabil Cold Storage, Nabil Feed Mills Ltd, Nabil Auto Rice Mill, Nabil Auto Flour Mill, Shimul Enterprise, Naba Agro Trade International, Anwara Trade International, Naba Pharma Limited, Nabil Green Crops Limited, and International Product Palace.

The 11 Nabil Group companies maintained accounts with Islami Bank's Gulshan Corporate Branch, New Market branch in Rajshahi and Pabna branch in Pabna.

The ACC also sought information on M/s Murad Enterprise and its affiliates (client of IBBL Chaktai branch in Chattogram), United Super Traders and its affiliates (client of IBBL Jubilee Road branch in Chattogram), and Century Food Products Limited and its affiliates (client of IBBL Khatunganj Corporate branch in Chattogram).

Golam Kibria Chowdhury, owner of United Super Traders, and others have allegedly embezzled crores of taka from Islami Bank.

A three-member ACC committee is investigating the allegations, said the letters.

According to a Bangladesh Bank inspection report, the IBBL in its 1,970th executive committee meeting on June 5, 2022, approved loans of Tk 950 crore for Nabil Grain Crops Ltd to be disbursed from the bank's Gulshan branch.

The company is groupedin the marginal category (new company) as per the Internal Credit Risk Rating System (ICRRS), said the central bank in its observation report.

BB officials said the IBBL should have taken at least Tk 230 crore as collateral money, including Tk 110 crore as deposits, from the company. As ensuring such safeguards is not mandatory for banks under the easy loan conditions, the loans become risky.

The IBBL Rajshahi branch approved Tk 3,100 crore loans to 11 Nabil Group companies, including Tk 700 crore to Nabil Feed Mills Ltd, also in June 2022.

In the meeting minutes, the IBBL claimed that Nabil Feed Mills Ltd and Nabil Grain Crops Ltd are not companies of the same group. However, the central bank suspected that the companies are owned by Nabil Group, according to the BB report.

If this is the case, then the IBBL has exceeded the single borrower exposure limit, which is a violation of The Bank Company Act, said the central bank.

In November 2023, the ACC wrote to the central bank seeking information on this alleged loan fraud.

In January this year, the BB said that the inspection of those institutions was underway and that it would sent the report once the inspection is completed.

The Daily Star could not reach Nabil Group Managing Director Md Aminul Islam for comments yesterday as he did not answer calls and SMS.