No probe report on 3 banks’ loan scams despite HC directives
None of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Bangladesh Bank (BB), Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police has submitted any probe report on the alleged loan scams in Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, and First Security Islami Bank to the High Court in the last four months despite its directive.
Today was the scheduled date for the organisations to submit their enquiry reports to the HC bench led by Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder.
The ACC, however, has submitted a compliance report to the HC bench through its lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan, saying that the commission has formed a three-member committee in order to probe the allegations of loan scams in the three back.
The commission has also sent a letter to the authorities concerned of the banks seeking relevant documents and after receiving the papers, the commission will start probing into the loan scam allegations, Khurshid Alam Khan told the court citing the compliance report.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Mohammad Showkat Ali Chowdhury gave one month's time to the organisations to submit their probe reports to this court and fixed May 9 for hearing and passing further order on this issue.
Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik told The Daily Star that Bangladesh Bank, BFIU, and CID did not submit their probe reports to the HC as they were late in receiving the HC order.
On December 4 last year, the HC in a suo motu (voluntary) move ordered the ACC, BB, BFIU, and CID to probe the alleged loan scams in Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, and First Security Islami Bank and submit probe reports to the court by today (April 6).
The HC also ordered the three banks to submit to the court a list of the officials who dealt with the loans along with their addresses.
The HC bench gave the orders following news reports in November last year about the alleged loan scams in the three banks.
It also asked S Alam Group to come up with explanations on the reports that it took Tk 30,000 crore from Islami Bank and to place relevant documents in this regard before the court.
Besides, the court issued a rule asking the respondents to explain why their inaction towards the persons involved in the loan scams should not be declared illegal and why they should not be directed to take action against them.
Secretaries at the ministries of finance, law and home affairs, the BB governor, the ACC chairman and heads of BFIU and the CID have been made respondents to the rule.
On November 24, the Bangla daily Prothom Alo published a report stating that an "unscrupulous group" had withdrawn Tk 2,460 crore from Islami Bank in November. Islami Bank had sanctioned about Tk 7,000 crore for the eight companies this year.
On November 29, the English daily New Age published another report saying that S Alam Group and its associate companies have taken loans amounting to Tk 30,000 crore from Islami Bank, well above their limit.