Staff Reporter :
The High Court has decided to reform a fact finding committee constituted by the Bangladesh Bank to mark the liabilities of the central bank officials who were in charge of overseeing the activities of the financial institutions from the year 2002 to date.
The court will add two competent persons out of the BB in the five-member fact finding committee that already has formed consisting of five high officials of the central bank in order to increase the credibility of the committee.
The court may declare the names of the duo today (Tuesday), said Barrister Omar Farouq who appeared in the court on behalf of a party, Tees Mart Inc.
Following a HC order BB on February 15 formed a five-member fact finding committee to mark the
liabilities of the central bank officials.
The committee will also see the irregularities took place in Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company Limited (BIFC), a Non-Bank Financial Institution. It has also been asked to submit a report to the BB governor within three months after taking the charge.
AKM Sajedur Rahman Khan, deputy governor of the central bank, has been made the chairman of the committee.
Four other members are— central bank’s executive director AKM Fazlur Rahman, general manager of the financial stability department Dr Md Kabir Ahammad, general manager of banking inspection department-4 Md Nurul Amin and deputy general manager of foreign currency inspection department Md Sorowar Hossain.
Attorney general AM Amin Uddin and Barrister Khan Mohammad Shamim Aziz, a counsel, placed the committee in the HC on yesterday (Monday) BB.
After holding hearing from the parties, the HC bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar decided to add two other persons out of the BB in the committee for increasing its credibility.
In an order, the HC bench on December 17 in 2020 observed, “For the case in hand, the General Managers who were in charge of overseeing the activities of the Financial Institutions from the year 2002 to date should be made accountable for causing the disaster in the Financial Sector.”
The court expected that “The Governor of Bangladesh Bank shall look into the matter for the greater interest of the nation in order to dismantle the prowess and ill-planes of the offenders, so that no further public money is purloined by the crook businessmen in collaboration with the unscrupulous Central Bank officials.”
Following the observation the BB has formed the fact finding committee, said Barrister Khan Mohammad Shamim Aziz.
The HC bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar made the observation following a company application filed under Section 233 of the Companies Act, 1994.
‘Tees Mart Inc’, a company holding 10% shareholder of BIFC, filed the petition in March last year seeking HC directives to remove present Board of Directors of the organisation.
Meanwhile, the court has accepted a prayer filed by the court-appointed chairman of the BIFC seeking directions to appoint statutory auditor for the audit of the company, to hold the AGM, to carry out a special audit.
The court-appointed chairman has also got the direction to the effect that the court appointed independent members of the board of directors of the BIFC shall not liable for any past loans/liabilities of the BIFC.
