The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has summoned former BASIC Bank Chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu for the third time to appear before it today for interrogation over the loan scam involving the bank.
It served a notice Sunday, asking him to be present at 9:00am at the commission's headquarters in the city's Segunbagicha, said ACC public relations official Pranab Kumar Bhattacharjee.
ACC interrogated Mr Bachchu over the Tk 35 billion loan scam for the first time on December 4 and second time on December 6 last year.
Earlier, Mr Bacchu was supposed to be interrogated for the third time on December 17, but he sent an application seeking one month's time citing his sickness as reason.
However, the commission issued the fresh notice Sunday, asking him to appear before the commission today.
The ACC launched the investigation following allegations that around Tk 35 billion in loans had been illegally disbursed from the bank's Gulshan, Dilkusha and Shantinagar branches between 2009 and 2011.
The bank allegedly provided the loans without collateral and using false documents and fictitious names and organisations in violation of rules and regulations.
After nearly four years of investigation, the anti-graft body filed 56 cases with three police stations in Dhaka, accusing 156 individuals including 26 bank officials.
Meanwhile, the commission on Sunday questioned six directors of AB Bank over the alleged money laundering of Tk 1.65 billion from the bank.
The six directors were Shishir Ranjan Bose, Mesbahul Hoque, Faheemul Huq (former), Syed Afzal Hasan Uddin, Runa Zakia and Anwar Jamil Siddiqui.
ACC director Syed Iqbal Hossain and assistant director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan interrogated them from 9:30am until 5:00pm at the anti-graft body's headquarters, said ACC public relations official Mr Pranab.
The ACC also summoned the bank's chairman MA Awal and director BB Saha Roy for interrogation about the allegation of sending the money from the bank to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by opening two offshore companies, he said.
ACC issued the notice asking them to appear before the commission at its headquarters today.
Earlier on December 28 and 31 last year, ACC grilled four persons including former AB Bank chairman M Wahidul Haque, former managing directors M Fazlar Rahman and Shamim Ahmed Chowdhury and former head of financial institute and treasury Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal over the same allegation.
M Wahidul Haque, Salim Ahmed and Faheemul Huq, who had been the chairman, vice chairman and director of the bank respectively, stepped down from their respective posts at the bank's annual general meeting held in the city's Le Méridien Hotel on December 21 last year.
However, the ACC imposed a ban on foreign travel by 12 directors and senior executives, former chairman and former managing of the bank for their alleged involvement in money laundering.
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