ACC probe fails to find ex-bank boss’s link with Tk 4,500cr scam
The Anti-Corruption Commission enquiry into the Tk 4,500 crore BASIC Bank scam couldn't find in it the involvement of the bank's then chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu, who allegedly masterminded the biggest banking fraud in Bangladesh, say ACC officials.
The outcome of the ACC enquiry that took more than a year to complete will surprise many, as the central bank found Bacchu's complicity in the loan scam that took place between 2009 and 2012.
ACC officials say the enquiry team will submit its report to the ACC chairman soon. Examining the report, the commission will file first information report (FIR) for detailed investigation.
Talking to The Daily Star recently on the BASIC Bank scam, Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman said, “Our inspection team unearthed what had happened in the BASIC Bank.”
All details were in the reports sent to the finance ministry and the ACC. The central bank did its job. It sacked BASIC bank's chief executive and recommended dissolving the then board responsible for the wrongdoings, he said.
Now the ball is in ACC's court. “I hope they will take action for the sake of the country,” added the BB governor.
The central bank first inspected BASIC Bank's Gulshan, Shantinagar and Dilkusha branches in 2012 and found evidence of serious anomalies in approving loans. It again conducted a special inspection at the BASIC Bank before giving details of the scam to the ACC.
In July last year, the BB sent to the ACC a report on the scam with details of how a section of borrowers embezzled money from the state-run bank through fake documents.
According to the report, the BASIC Bank board and its credit committee at the headquarters ignored the negative observations of bank branches on a number of loan proposals and approved those without following due procedure.
The BB report also mentioned how Bacchu arbitrarily approved loans against forged papers and inflated mortgages.
But the ACC's primary enquiry has failed to find Bacchu's involvement in the scam.
Asked, ACC Chairman M Badiuzzaman said, “Once I get the report, I will examine it.”
He said the then BASIC Bank chairman couldn't avoid his responsibility. “He [bank chairman] had a big role in passing the resolution of loan proposals at board meetings.
The ACC chief said they would look into the issue seriously during the detailed investigation into the scam.