The Anti-Corruption Commission is yet to take any step against the former chairman and the sacked managing director of BASIC Bank with regard to their alleged involvement in the embezzlement of Tk3,500 crore public fund from the state-owned institute.
On the matter, the commission initiated an inquiry last year, but it is yet to make any visible progress. So far, the ACC served notices to two suspended officials for submitting wealth statements, say ACC officials.
The ACC usually takes statements from persons allegedly involved in a scam when it initiates an inquiry. It also seeks wealth statements for allegations of accumulation of illegal wealth.
The commission in May served notices to two officials and their families for amassing wealth illegally. They are former deputy managing director A Monaem Khan and former general manager Mohammad Ali. However, they have not submitted the statements as per the ACC notices.
The duo and four others were suspended in April this year for their alleged involvement in the scam.
However, no action has so far been taken against former chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu and former managing director Kazi Faqurul Islam. The MD was sacked on May 26 while the chairman resigned on July 4.
The commission suspended its inquiry soon after Bangladesh Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BASIC Bank last year with a view to recover financial health of the state-owned bank.
“We have suspended the inquiry just after the signing of the MoU as it bars us to do so. But we can revive it again if the finance minister or the Bangladesh Bank wants,” ACC Chairman M Bodiuzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
However, the central bank claims that there is no relationship between the ACC inquiry and the MoU. Rather the Bangladesh Bank is relying on the ACC investigation with a view to take action against former chairman Bacchu.
“The central bank has some limitations as it cannot take any legal action against culprits under the criminal laws. However, the bank will send detailed reports to the ACC so that the latter can conduct an in-depth investigation and find out the culprits behind the irregularities,” Bangladesh Bank Executive Director SM Moniruzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune.
The Bangladesh Bank report has found that some officials of the bank’s management played key role behind the irregularities while the former chairman was involved in loan disbursement.
The ACC has so far changed three inquiry officers. For this, none of them was able to prepare a probe report and the commission has nothing in hand to disclose publicly or take action.
In response to a question whether the ACC would take any action against Bacchu and Faqurul, or revive the inquiry after getting the central bank report, the ACC chairman said they would first analyse the report after getting a copy of it from the central bank.
The money was allegedly embezzled from different branches of the bank by sanctioning loans to some fake companies through letters of credit, inland bill purchases and counterfeit documents. The irregularities took place mostly in Dilkusha, Shantinagar and Gulshan branches between 2009 and 2013.
