The Urdu saying 'Jo dikhta hai woh hota nahi aur jo hota hai woh dikhta nahi' (what you see is not the reality and whatever is the reality you don't see), seemingly, explains well the ongoing developments surrounding the BASIC Bank scam probe by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The ACC following its investigation into the irregularities in the disbursement of loans amounting to Tk.45.5 billion by the BASIC Bank has filed as many as 54 cases in a staggered manner.
In their reports on the ACC filing of the cases with different police stations of Dhaka city, all the newspapers invariably mentioned the fact that the ACC had left out immediate past chairman of the bank, Mr. Abdul Hye Bacchu.
However, both the ACC and Mr. Bacchu have so far preferred to remain silent or ignore the media's inquisitiveness.
It could be that the ACC did not include the name of Mr. Bacchu in the cases either because its officials had not found during their investigations any 'evidence' sufficient enough to implicate the immediate past chairman or they had decided not to 'touch' a person enjoying a strong political backing. What has actually worked here is difficult to say.
Surprisingly, Mr. Bacchu has not said a word until now dismissing the allegations about his involvement in massive irregularities in the disbursement of loans worth billions of taka.
It would appear strange to most people that only former officials of the bank and some borrowers have been named as accused in all the cases filed by the ACC.
The anti-graft body has found none from the immediate past board of directors involved in any form in what is considered the biggest-ever bank loan scam in the country's history.
There should not be an iota of doubt that funds were siphoned off the BASIC Bank through a collusive mechanism devised by some unscrupulous directors of the bank and its officials.
The bank branches did not have the authority to sanction and disburse large loans and they were required to secure approval of the bank's head office and the board of directors.
It is the board of directors that clears large loans and makes review of the loan recovery situation. The proceedings of the board meetings are sufficient to determine the involvement of the directors in this respect.
The ACC probe team, as a matter of rule, must have gone through the proceedings of the board meetings. Since none from the board of directors has been named in the cases the ACC has so far filed, it gives an impression that the immediate past chairman and directors of the bank did not have any involvement in the scam.
It means that only the bank officials were involved in the sanctioning and disbursement of large loans that have gone sour. But by no count it is possible.
It could be that the proceedings of the meetings of the bank's board of directors have been doctored later. In fact, opportunities were created for indulging in such an offence. Mr. Bacchu thus continued as the chairman of the bank for a long time even after the detection of massive irregularities in sanctioning and disbursement of loans by the central bank.
When newspapers quoting central bank investigation reports started publishing stories about the BASIC loan scam, the bank management through newspaper advertisements dismissed the allegations and claimed huge successes under the 'able and dynamic' leadership of Mr. Bacchu as its chairman.
The bank, after having 'achieved' such 'huge successes' during the tenure of its immediate past chairman, is now finding it hard to move on normally. With its capital base largely eroded, the bank has got capital infusion from the government and it has been seeking more such aid from the ministry of finance.
The bank that was a role model for other state-owned banks until 2009, in terms of profitability and efficient management, is facing humiliation in the banking world as it is now compelled to open letters of credit (LCs) of its clients through other banks.
There is no denying that the appointment of a few people under political consideration in the hierarchy of a number of state-owned banks has produced unpalatable outcome. But allowing a few of this kind who caused substantial damage, financial or otherwise, to such banks to go unscathed will not be a prudent move, at least, for the sake of the government's own image.
The common men have developed a habit of saying, the politically powerful are above the law and they are free to do whatever they like. It remains the job of the government and other relevant institutions to prove such a notion wrong.
   zahidmar10@gmail.com
The brazen cover-up
Shamsul Huq Zahid | Published: September 30, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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