Islamic Finance MD resigns amid graft allegations
Abu Zafore Md Saleh, managing director of Islamic Finance and Investment, has resigned over allegations of breaching rules and regulations in recruiting employees and enjoying financial benefits.
He resigned on June 7 following a Bangladesh Bank investigation into the non-bank financial institution (NBFI).
A central bank team carried out the probe in December last year when it found Saleh to have committed gross violations of the rules and regulations while appointing officials in different categories for the NBFI.
He also enjoyed festival bonus amounting to Tk 10 lakh in violation of the internal policy of the leasing company, according to the central bank probe report.
Saleh joined the NBFI in June 2018 and enjoyed the benefit before completing six months at the company.
He appointed some officials at the NBFI without any viva and evaluation, the report mentioned.
The management of the NBFI did not even publish any advertisement in the newspapers as is required in the appointment process.
Saleh also facilitated the NBFI board members in joining the recruitment process, which is a clear violation of central bank instructions. Despite all this, the board of directors of the NBFI renewed Saleh's job as his three-year tenure ended on June 7.
The board sent a letter to the central bank in May, requesting to give approval for Saleh to continue in his job for another tenure.
But the central bank did not accept the request. Instead, it sent the probe's observations against Saleh to the NBFI.
The BB asked the NBFI on June 8 to rethink appointing Saleh for another tenure, mentioning the irregularities perpetrated by him.
The NBFI was also asked to provide its opinion on whether the interest of depositors would be protected if Saleh was reappointed.
On top of that, the central bank also sent another letter to Saleh on June 2, where the banking regulator asked him to respond to the allegations brought up through the BB probe report.
Against this backdrop, Saleh submitted his resignation letter on June 7, citing that for personal reasons he would not continue for another tenure.
Officials of the NBFI and the central bank said Saleh had been compelled to resign from the post due to the central bank's action.
In addition, the NBFI board also asked him to discontinue his job due to the central bank's observation.
Anwar Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the NBFI, sent a letter to the central bank on June 13, expressing gratitude to the BB for its efforts in informing them about Saleh's involvement in the irregularities.
He also mentioned in the letter that Saleh would not be able to influence the NBFI as he had resigned from the job.
Despite repeated attempts, Chowdhury could not be reached for comment.
Contacted, Maruf Mansur, acting managing director of Islamic Finance and Investment, declined to comment to this end.
The central bank probe report said Saleh had appointed a junior officer, whose age was more than 34 years, ignoring the employee service rules of the NBFI.
The age of a junior officer cannot cross 30 years, but he sidestepped the rule.
Another junior officer, whose age is also more than 30 years, was recruited at a higher salary than what was the usual practice.
Saleh also promoted an official of the NBFI as its chief financial officer (CFO) although that person did not have the required experience for the mentioned field, avoiding the rules.
He also appointed an official as head of human resources with a monthly salary of Tk 2.84 lakh.
The amount of salary is too much high given the financial health of the NBFI.
The central bank also accused Saleh of resorting to nepotism in the recruitment process.
Saleh did not respond to The Daily Star's requests for comment on the issue.
Total deposits in the NBFI stood at Tk 1,410 crore last year, up 7.55 per cent year-on-year.
Loans grew 5.14 per cent to Tk 1,307 crore. Default loans stood at Tk 48 crore last year, down 15 per cent from that of a year ago.
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