The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has intensified its investigation into alleged irregularities in Bangladesh's banking sector by seeking a fresh set of documents from Bangladesh Bank, including records related to former governor Dr Atiur Rahman, 2016 reserve heist, Hallmark loan scam and S Alam Group's banking operations.
In a letter sent to the central bank on June 11, the anti-graft watchdog asked Bangladesh Bank to submit the documents by June 30. ACC officials said some information has already been received and is being examined, while further requisitions will be issued if necessary.
The inquiry centres on allegations of abuse of power, policy decisions that allegedly favoured loan defaulters, the Bangladesh Bank reserve heist, the Hallmark loan scam, loan fraud involving S Alam Group and other banking irregularities that allegedly weakened the country's financial sector over the past 15 years.
A three-member inquiry committee, led by ACC Deputy Director Md Mominul Islam, has been formed to conduct the investigation. Deputy Director Ranjit Kumar Karmakar and Assistant Director Md Yasin Molla are the other members.
The ACC has sought certified copies of circulars on single borrower exposure limits and large loan rescheduling and restructuring issued between 2016 and 2024, details of Bangladesh Bank's board members from 2009 to 2024, records of companies that received concessional loans under BRPD Circular No. 08 of 2020, documents relating to S Alam Group's acquisition of ownership in different banks, papers on liquidity support provided to S Alam-controlled banks during the tenure of former governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, and cyber security expert Tanvir Joha's investigation report on the Bangladesh Bank reserve heist.
The commission is also examining Bangladesh Bank's regulatory decisions on loan restructuring, changes in bank ownership, liquidity support and internal decision-making processes to determine whether governance failures facilitated large-scale financial irregularities.
ACC Assistant Director and Public Relations Officer Md Tanzir Ahmed confirmed that the inquiry was under way.
"The inquiry team has already received a significant amount of information regarding the allegations. The documents are being examined, and more information will be sought from Bangladesh Bank if required," he said.
One of the key areas under investigation is the Bangladesh Bank reserve heist, one of the largest cyber-enabled bank robberies in history.
In February 2016, hackers infiltrated Bangladesh Bank's computer network through the SWIFT international payment system and attempted to steal nearly $1 billion from the country's account at the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Although most of the fraudulent transfer requests were blocked, $101 million was transferred successfully.
Bangladesh recovered the $20 million transferred to Sri Lanka after a spelling error in the payment instruction raised suspicion. However, most of the remaining $81 million sent to accounts in the Philippines was withdrawn through casinos and money remittance channels, making recovery extremely difficult. Only a small portion of the stolen money has since been recovered.
The cyberattack exposed serious weaknesses in Bangladesh Bank's cyber security, internal controls and oversight mechanisms and drew widespread criticism over the delayed disclosure of the incident.
As part of the latest inquiry, the ACC has sought Tanvir Joha's investigation report into the reserve heist. Banking sector experts say the range of documents sought suggests the ACC is examining not only individual loan fraud cases but also whether regulatory decisions, policy changes and governance failures within Bangladesh Bank enabled repeated loan rescheduling, relaxed lending rules, changes in bank ownership and liquidity support to financially distressed banks. The ACC has yet to indicate when the inquiry will be completed or whether former central bank officials and others named in the allegations will be summoned for questioning.
