Bangladesh Bank on Sunday (January 4) issued directives sending the managing directors (MDs) of five more private commercial banks on compulsory leave on the advice of the taskforce formed by the central bank.
The banks are Exim Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank Ltd (SIBL), and ICB Islami Bank. Of these banks, four were under the control of S Alam Group.
It is learnt that the managing directors of those six private commercial banks were involved in granting loans amounting thousands of crore of taka in favour of S Alam Group.
A senior official of the Bangladesh Bank said the managing directors of five more banks were sent on compulsory leave.
He said a meeting between the Bangladesh Bank government Dr Ahsan H Mansur and chairmen of the five banks was held on Sunday (January 4). At the meeting, the central bank governor asked the chairmen to send the managing directors at their concerned banks on compulsory leave.
Earlier on Saturday, the MD of First Security Islami Bank, Syed Wasek Md Ali, was sent on compulsory leave of absence for negligence in duty. He was sent on the compulsory leave for the next three months. During his absence, the bank's additional managing director Abu Reza Md Yahia will serve as the acting managing director. The bank's chairman Abdul Mannan confirmed it.
It may be mentioned that First Security Islami Bank's chairman was S Alam Group's director Saiful Alam Masud. Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina led government on August 5 last year, the Bangladesh Bank reconstituted the board of directors of the bank on September 1 last. Former managing director of Islami Bank Limited was made the chairman of the bank. During the occupation of Islami Bank Limited by S Alam in 2017, Abdul Mannan was forced to resign.
