Due to the corruption of NRBC Bank Chairman SM Parvez Tomal and his board, innocent officials of the bank are also getting affected, according to several Bangladesh Bank reports.
The ACC has filed a case against several people including Tomal. Several innocent bank officials have been in trouble due to this.
It is learned that the Financial Integrity and Customer Services Division of Bangladesh Bank investigated the allegations of bank looting by Parvez Tomal's group in NRBC Bank in May-June 2022 through various irregularities and multifaceted corruption.
Dhaka Tribune has obtained the investigation reports, where it stated that as irregularities and corruption were proven in various sectors of the bank, action was recommended against Chairman Parvez Tomal, and some members of the board of directors. Several innocent bank officials were trapped there. One of the victims is Md. Delwar Hossain, who is currently working as senior executive vice president of Bangladesh Commerce Bank.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, those concerned said that subordinate employees work under the orders of higher authorities. Here, they have to do whatever the higher officials give them. In some cases, they have to do illegal work even against their will.
Even though they do not have any facilities, they are forced to do all these things for the sake of securing their jobs. But when there is any problem, innocent people get trapped along with the higher authorities.
Delwar Hossain was one such victim, they added.
NRBC and Mercantile Bank officials said that Delwar Hossain is a skilled and honest banker, who had good reputation during his time in NRBC Bank, and also received many awards for his work success.
Insiders said that Delwar worked in various reputable banks for 34 years. He has a colorful career in City Bank, Mercantile Bank and NRBC Bank. He served as a branch manager for more than 15 years. Every year of his management, the bank received many crests and certificates for its success. His role in the industrial sector and Bangladesh's exports was very important. He created hundreds of new entrepreneurs. He made a great contribution to the export sector.
But now he claims being victim of a conspiracy by a corrupt group in NRBC Bank.
Hossain, now SEVP at Bangladesh Commerce Bank, said that some unscrupulous people are repeatedly spreading false news.
He also said that while serving as a manager in NRBC Uttara branch for 7 years, he completed 80%-90% of the export work in Uttara branch alone through 28 RMG suppliers. He has also been awarded many times for this. At that time, there were almost no defaulted loans in NRBC Bank’s Uttara branch.
But now, he said due to his honest nature, some unethical directors and management authorities are now spreading false accusations against him, to keep them clear of any allegations of corruption.
Bangladesh Commerce Bank Senior Executive Vice President Delwar Hossain said: "Some dishonest people are repeatedly spreading false news. They are involved in various conspiracies."
He also said that the involvement of NRBC Bank in a fraud of Tk232 crore has been mentioned, which is completely baseless.
Pile of accusations against Tomal
According to an investigation report filed by the Vigilance and Antifraud Division of the central bank’s Financial Integrity and Customer Services Division, several complaints were filed between March 5, 2022 and April 27, 2022.
The complaints were filed with the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, Deputy Governors and various departments, including the Sponsor Shareholder of NRB Commercial Bank Limited Tohel Ahmed, Entrepreneur Sponsor Fahad Al Madani, Principal Entrepreneur Shareholder Enayet Hossain and the Founder Chairman of the bank, Engineer Farashat Ali.
In these complaints, various allegations were made against the current Chairman of the bank, Parvez Tomal and Managing Director Golam Aulia, and a request was made to reconstitute the Board of Directors of the bank.
Another investigation uncovered irregularities regarding the recruitment of guards, peons and contractual workers by a company called NRB Management Limited:
As per the report, NRBC Bank entered into an agreement with NRB Management Limited on March 1, 2021 (for the period of 28/02/2023) for the recruitment of human resources, security guards and support staff.
Although it was mentioned that the chairman or directors of the board were barred from all administrative activities including appointment, promotion, transfer and disciplinary measures under the approved service rules, nine directors, including the chairman of the bank were directly involved in the appointment process of the bank in violation of the instructions of the circulars, against the good governance of the bank.
In addition, chairman of the bank Mehedi Parvez Tomal was also managing director of NRB Management Limited, resulting in a conflict of interest.
