The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has fined the Bangladesh Commerce Bank Limited (BCBL) Tk2 lakh as the bank did not inform the central bank about the default loan record of a remittance award recipient.
The defaulter, Shahjahan Bablu, was awarded Bangladesh Bank Remittance Award 2018 on October 7 this year.
Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal handed over the remittance award to 36 entities and individuals including Bablu for sending the highest amount of remittance last year.
Amid huge criticism from different quarters, the BB revoked the award three days after it was given to Bablu.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune, a senior official of BB said the BB had fined Bangladesh Commerce Bank Tk5 lakh last month due to its failure to inform the BB of Bablu’s loan default issue.
Bablu remitted the foreign currency to the country through BCBL.
However, the BB following a plea of the BCBL reduced the fine to Tk2 lakh last week.
BCBL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Abdul Khaleque Khan told Dhaka Tribune that he was aware about the step taken by the central bank in this regard.
At the award giving ceremony held at the diploma engineer’s institution in the capital, a representative of Bablu received the award on his behalf as he could not attend the programme.
According to an investigation of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, Bablu laundered Tk200 crore through BCBL in the name of exporting goods abroad.
Bablu through one of his companies, SB Exim, laundered the money in the name of exporting clay-made terracotta.
After laundering the money, he bought export bills worth Tk190 crore from the bank’s Dilkusha branch.
In the meantime, the Crime Investigation Department of Police and Anti-Corruption Commission also found Bablu’s involvement in money laundering and export scam.
