2 directors of Sonali deny links

Two members of Sonali Bank's board of directors yesterday denied their involvement in the Hall-Mark Group loan scam.
The two -- Jannat Ara Henry and Subhash Chandra Singha Roy -- held the bank's management responsible for the scandal.
Jannat and Subhash are among six directors of the bank who were questioned by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) at its office in the capital yesterday.
“The money was misappropriated through Inland Bill Purchase (IBP). The board of directors do not discuss the IBP issues as those are not tabled at the board meeting,” Jannat told reporters after the quizzing.
"So, it is the management, not the board of directors, that is to be held responsible for that [scam]," she said.
Asked whether the board had exercised its authority to disburse the loan illegally, Jannat said the board had neither influenced the loan disbursement process nor gave approval to it, since the board's approval was not necessary.
Subhash Singha Roy echoed her.
A six-member ACC team yesterday interrogated the six Sonali Bank directors as part of the ongoing investigation into the loan scam involving the bank and Hall-Mark Group.
The four other directors are KM Zaman Romel, ASM Naim, Satyendra Chandra and Anwar Shahid.
ACC Deputy Director Mir Mohammad Zainul Abedin Shibly led the six-member team.
Four more directors of the board and its Chairman Kazi Baharul Islam will be quizzed today, said an official of the anti-corruption body yesterday.
A Bangladesh Bank investigation found that the Ruposhi Bangla branch of Sonali Bank lent Hall-Mark Group and five other companies Tk 3,547 crore from 2010 till May this year.
Of the sum, all swindled using fake papers, Hall-Mark alone took Tk 2,686 crore.