The High Court has directed officials to probe into Chittagong-based S Alam Group's Tk30,000 crore loan from Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL).
The court ordered the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit a probe report within four months, reports Bangla Tribune.
Besides, the High Court also issued a ruling asking why the failure to take action against those responsible for this incident will not be declared illegal.
A High Court bench comprising Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat gave the orders on Sunday.
Previously, S Alam Group lifted Tk30,000 crore from IBBL, which is way beyond the group's entitlement.
The group is only allowed to borrow a maximum Tk215 crore from the IBBL as per rules, according to media reports.
After an article on the matter was published in a Bangla daily, a letter was sent to the governor of Bangladesh Bank asking for an investigation.
The letter was sent on behalf of five customers of the bank, they are - Supreme Court lawyers Mohammad Shishir Monir, Mohammad Abdul Wadud, and Abdullah Sadiq and students of LLB, LLM department of Dhaka University Shaikhul Islam Imran and Zayed bin Amjad.
The letter reads: “On September 24, an investigative report in a newspaper revealed that Tk2,460 crore was withdrawn from Islami Bank from November 1 to 17 by a group. The report gives a detailed description of the concerned institutions. As bank depositors, we are concerned. Admittedly, Bangladesh is facing an economic crisis. In such circumstances, we are aggrieved by such suspicious financial transactions from the bank.”