Staff Reporter :
A leather goods export company has withdrawn Tk 1075 crore from the state-owned Janata Bank using fake documents, Bangladesh Bank investigation found.
Crescent Group, which owes Tk 2760 crore to Janata Bank allegedly got the loan connivancing the bank officials and lobbying the political elements in the bank’s board of directors.
The entire amount was drawn from the bank’s Imamganj Corporate Branch involving 98 percent of this branch’s loans gave to the Crescent Group. The group has taken as much as Tk 5130 crore from the bank since 2013.
In its investigation report, the central bank said the group also siphoned off the money from the government’s fund meant for cash incentives against exports.
The group has allegedly kept abroad more than Tk 1000 crore it earned through exports whereas it has become a loan defaulter of the bank. Asked about the scam MA Quader, the man who runs this group, blamed disconnection of power lines at his leather units for failure to shifting tannery factory from Hazaribagh in due time. “As a result, we could not bring Tk 1200 crore from abroad although we are trying to do so. It may take up to two years”, he said.
The Bangladesh Bank’s investigation found that Crescent Group made exports to fake overseas organisations reportedly owned by Bangladeshis. Although it exported goods to Hong Kong, the bill has been sent to the US and the exporter has allegedly brought back money from the US and Dubai.
Quader argued that he exported goods to different destinations via Hong Kong.
As the central bank pointed out that the money has also been transferred elsewhere including the share market, real estate and insurance, the owner of the group claimed he has formed 13 companies. “I have not misused the money. If I am given some time, everything will be fine,” he said.
Abdus Salam, who was managing director of the Janata till October 2017, claimed the major portion of the money was realised but certain preoccupations during the last days of his office and subsequent period created problems.
The former MD put the entire blame on the manager of the branch at that time, who said, “Whatever has happened was done by the branch officials. I just carried out the orders given by the board of directors,” he claimed.
Current MD Abdus Salam Azad admitted that none of the export bills could be recovered and the loans of the branch are classified ones.
Former principal secretary to the prime minister Wahid-uz-Zaman who was chairman of the bank after Dhaka University professor Abul Barkat, denied involvement of the board of directors, in the scandal.
The board of directors at that time included former Bangladesh Chhatra League leader Balaram Poddar, a central sub-committee leader of the ruling Awami League Nagibul Islam Dipu and AL nomination aspirant from Kalihati, Tangail, and Jubo League leader Abu Naser.
The bank’s branch officials were also found to be beneficiaries of the scam.
In the meantime, the central bank has asked the Janata Bank to dismiss 10 officials and has suspended the licence of the Imamganj branch for foreign trade.
On repeated scams, former governor of the central bank Salehuddin Ahmed said since culprits of earlier swindlings have not been punished, such scams continue. “There has been a culture of impunity,” he added.
