Amid reports of anomaies, the Bangladesh Bank has appointed observers at Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) and First Security Islami Bank Limited (FSIBL).
Central bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque on Monday said its directors Abul Kalam Azad and Motasem Billah will work as observers at the IBBL and the FSIBL respectively.
The observers will attend meetings of the Shariah-based banks’ boards of directors and executive and audit committees and report to the central bank.
Media reports recently revealed that the two Islami banks disbursed a large amount of loans in violation of banking rules.
S Alam Group, a Chattogram-based business, took out thousands of crores of taka in loans from these two banks.
The company has stakes in these two shariah-based banks and is also a member of the board of directors of the banks.
The central bank usually appoints its top officials as observers to a bank when a lender's financial health deteriorates due to financial scandals.
It has appointed observers to nine banks so far, including the latest two, to restore corporate governance in the financial sector.
Meanwhile, on 4 December, the High Court directed authorities concerned to probe reports of lending irregularities by Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL), Social Islami Bank Ltd (SIBL) and First Security Islami Bank Ltd (FSIBL).
The HC, issuing a suo motu (voluntary) rule, also directed the authorities of the banks in question to submit the names and addresses of officials who dealt with the loans.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Bangladesh Bank (BB), the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), and the police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have been asked to submit their findings by 5 April.
The HC bench has asked S Alam Group for an explanation on the reports that it took Tk30,000 crore from IBBL.
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