The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has not yet taken any decision to speed up inquiry into the financial scam at Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce (BASIC) Bank Limited although Bangladesh Bank (BB) sent a probe report on it to the ACC five days ago.
The central bank sent the report on Tuesday detailing how borrowers embezzled money from the BASIC Bank through fake companies and suspected accounts, after concluding a special inspection into the scam in the first week of this month. The BB, through its inquiry found huge irregularities in the BASIC bank’s Gulshan, Shantinagar and Dilkusha branches. It suspects that a chunk of Tk 4,500 crore embezzled from BASIC Bank has gone out of the country.
Sources said, some senior officers of the ACC found to be indifference to the graft matter. This is nothing new. They also showed the same apathy to the first probe report sent by the BB in 2013. For such slow spirits, the investigation against the irregularities committed in the bank lays in the file only, not anything else, they added. When contacted over cell phone yesterday afternoon, ACC Chairman M Badiuzzaman told The New Nation that the ACC did not take any decision in this regard.
“We have already received the probe report of the central bank. I will sit with my high officials soon and come up with a decision,” he said.
Asked if any progress was made in the commission’s inquiry, he avoided the question and switched-off the phone.
Earlier last year, the BB also sent another primary probe report and asked the anti-graft body to look into matter. But the commission could not make any tangible progress.
It is reported that the inquiry into the scam of the state-owned bank was postponed long ago due to unknown reasons.
ACC Deputy Director and Investigation officer of the matter Syed Iqbal admitted that the inquiry into the scam was not operated for a long time. “We were waiting for the probe report of the Bangladesh Bank”, he said. Asked if he went through the latest probe report of the BB, he said that he was only informed by the media reports. “I have learnt from the media reports about the BB’s fresh report to the ACC. But I am yet to find it”.
In response to another question that whether he made any progress in investigating the matter, he said, he will not be able to comment.
On condition of anonymity, an officer of the commission said, “Actually there is no headway on the BASIC Bank inquiry”.
The latest report of the BB was also sent to its anti-money laundering unit to see whether the money was laundered.
In November 2012, ACC formed a four-member inquiry team with its senior Deputy Director Mir Mohammad Joynal Abedin Shibli as the chief on receipt of information of misappropriation of Tk 3,500 crore from the bank.
Later on March 10 in 2013, another team was formed with Deputy Director Syed Iqbal Hossain as its head.
The allegation stated that out of the Tk 3,500 crore scam, around Tk 1,600 crore was misappropriated through withdrawals from Gulshan Branch of bank. The branch manager violated rules and sanctioned loans to six fake companies between 2009 and August 2012.
The companies are S Suhi Shipping Line (Tk 45 crore), S Recourse Shipping Line (Tk 65 crore), Shifan Shipping Line (Tk 50 crore), Amira Shipping Line (Tk 90 crore), SFG Shipping Line (Tk 75 crore) and Green Bangla Shipping Line (Tk 130 crore). Commission officials said that Sheikh Shahriar Panna, brother of the BASIC Bank chairman, had embezzled about Tk 730 crore. They said that Tk 1,500 crore was allegedly embezzled from the bank’s Shantinagar branch.
The bank chairman took the larger portion of the fund, which is about Tk 400 crore. Some high government officials also allegedly received shares of the so-called loan but the commission officials did not name them.
An official said that the Shantinagar branch had disbursed Tk 25 crore to Nahar Garden, Tk 163 crore to Auto Define, Tk 27 crore to Syed Traders, Tk 55 crore to Ahmed Faizur Rhman, Tk 35 crore to LR Trading, Tk 118 crore to Fiez Auto, Tk 55 crore to Eco Brice, Tk 110 crore to Noman Textile and Tk 70 to Aristocrat.
The Dilkusha Branch paid about Tk 1,400 crore in loans to some companies. It sanctioned Tk 70 crore to Balyet Navigation, Tk 55 crore to Adib Dyeing, Tk 42 crore to Welltex, Tk 25 crore to Well Sweaters, Tk 70 crore to Syed Constructions, Tk 55 crore to Bay Navigation, Tk 28 crore to Alotec, Tk 65 crore to Apollo Constructions and Tk 55 crore to Emerald.
