ACC again summons 17 BB officials

SAJIBUR RAHMAN | Published: November 21, 2024 23:28:10

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has again summoned 17 senior officials of the Bangladesh Bank for failing to appear earlier over allegations of corruption, embezzlement, and loan misuse linked to Islami Bank Bangladesh in Chattogram.
On Thursday, it issued the summons, which said the officials would have to appear at the ACC headquarters in Dhaka on December 8 and 9. They were also asked to bring attested photocopies of their national IDs and passports.
Earlier, a summons issued by the ACC on November 11 outlined specific instances of the officials' alleged misuse of bank loans and embezzlement linked to Chattogram-based entities.
Talking to The Financial Express, ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Aktarul Islam said the senior Bangladesh Bank officials had earlier been summoned to appear before the commission on November 20 and 21, but they failed to do so.
He added that they were re-summoned on Thursday after officially communicating with the head of the inquiry team.
The 17 officials were summoned in connection with allegations that Golam Sarwar Chowdhury, proprietor of M/S Murad Enterprise in Chattogram's Asadganj, and others had embezzled and misused Islami Bank loans.
In this regard, a letter signed by the investigation officer, ACC Deputy Director Yasir Arafat, was sent to the central bank governor.
Ten of the 17 officials are Md Jubair Hossain, deputy director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-4), Chattogram; Sunirban Barua, joint director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-4), Chattogram; Sankar Kanti Ghosh, additional director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-4), Chattogram; Rubel Chowdhury, deputy director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-2), Dhaka; Anik Talukder, joint director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-2), Dhaka; Salima Begum, additional director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-2), Dhaka; Syed Md Arifun Nabi, joint director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-2), Chattogram; Anowar Hossain, additional director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-2), Chattogram; Shoab Chowdhury, additional director of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-2), Chattogram; and Lenin Azad Palash, deputy director and member of the inspection team under the Bank Inspection Department-6, Dhaka.
Among the seven others, three are Md Abdur Rauf Chowdhury, additional director and member of the inspection team under the Bank Inspection Department-6, Dhaka; Md Munjur Hossain Khan, additional director and team leader of the Bank Inspection Department-6, Dhaka; and Md Sarwar Hossain, director of the central bank Dhaka headquarters and observer of Islami Bank Bangladesh, Dhaka.
The four remaining officials are Khorshedul Alam, Debashis Biswas, Zia Uddin Bablu, and Rubel Chowdhury. They are all deputy directors of the Bank Inspection Department (Wing-2), Chattogram.
The ACC has emphasised that failure to comply with the summons will result in legal consequences under the anti-corruption act. Thursday's summons highlighted the commission's ongoing efforts to address systemic corruption in Bangladesh's financial sector.
sajibur@gmail.com