Tk 22.5cr loan taken out thru fake contract

It's another glaring example of collusion between bank officials and a businessman who took Tk 22.5 crore loan from the state-run Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) through a fake contract.

Tipu Sultan, the owner of Dhaka Trading, even changed his father's name and gave false information in the documents, yet the bank officials sanctioned the loan back in 2012, according to the findings of officials of the Anti-Corruption Commission.

On June 11 last year, the ACC filed a case against Tipu, ex-BDBL General Manager Syed Nurur Rahman Kadri, Assistant General Manager Dewan Mohammad Ishak and ex-principal officer Dinesh Chandra Saha for misappropriating Tk 25.5 crore from the bank.

The matter is under investigation, and Tipu is now on bail.

Earlier in February 2016, the ACC had sued Tipu and four others, including general manager of Janata Bank Limited, for swindling more than Tk 250 crore through fake documents.

According to the website of Dhaka Trading, it is a jute exporter based in Khulna.

Seeking anonymity, a BDBL official said Tipu opened a loan account with the BDBL against a Trust Receipt (LTR) account of Dhaka Trading on April 03, 2012.

Bank officials were supposed to collect the updated income tax certificate against the LTR account, but they didn't.

"He [Tipu] changed his father's name in the bank's Know Your Client [KYC] form," the official said.

In the loan application, Tipu stated that he got a contract from the Directorate General of Food to supply it 50,000 tonnes of wheat worth Tk 120.50 crore.

He also mentioned that he had already supplied the directorate with 15,000 tonnes of wheat by "a truck within a day" after opening the LTR account with the BDBL.

"It is impossible to transport 15,000 tonnes of wheat by only one truck within a day, yet the bank officials sanctioned Tk 25.5 crore loan to Dhaka Trading," the official pointed out.

Without examining Dhaka Trading's loan repayment capacity or financial records, the BDBL officials hastily approved the loan on April 9, 2012.

When the bank hired an audit firm to look into the matter in 2015, the auditors found that all the documents related to the tender and supply of wheat to the directorate were false. The truck's registration number was also fake.

When the bank contacted the officials of the directorate, they said no such contract was given to Dhaka Trading, added the BDBL official.

Contacted, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anowar Prodhan said the investigation is still going on. He declined to comment further.

The correspondent tried to reach Tipu over his mobile phone several times, but it was found switched off.