Bid to remove First Securities Bank directors on hundi charge

The Bangladesh Bank (BB) is to serve notices today upon the chairman and five directors of the First Securities Bank to explain why they would not be removed from the bank board for their alleged involvement in hundi transactions.

Going through records, a BB inspection team has found abnormal transactions in foreign exchange remittance at the Dilkusha branch of the private commercial bank and also found clues to involvement of the bank chairman, five directors, two officials of the bank and two other persons, according to banking sources.

The BB team found that they used to buy dollars form the market and send those to different accounts at a bank abroad through TTs (telephonic transfers).

"This is a clear case of money laundering and we will take action as per law," said a source at the central bank.

The BB will serve show cause notices under Section 46 of the Bank Companies Act on the bank chairman, Naism Sikder, and five directors -- ZH Sikder, Shahidul Huq, Zahidul Huq, Mahbubul Huq Sikder and Salahuddin Ahmed. And they will have to send their reply in 15 days, sources said.

The two other persons found involved in the dubious transactions are Zainul Huq sikder and Momtazul Huq Sikder. Two officials of the bank - Khandaker Mohiuddin and Qazi Mashiur Rahman - are also learnt to have been involved in it.

The BB will deal with the case under Money Laundering Act and take actions against officials of the bank branch involved in the transactions. Also the Anti-corruption Bureau will be asked to investigate the case.

The central bank investigation found that these people had filled up15 forged forex declaration forms (FMJ) on different dates and showed they had brought in $8.9 lakh through Zia International Airport. They used to deposit the dollars at foreign currency (FC) accounts.

And within a short span of time, they used to send those foreign currencies to the joint account of Zainul Huq and Shahidul Huq and an account of Nasim Sikder at the Bank of America through TTs.

The BB team also found they had sent about four lakh dollars through four more TTs.