BASIC BANK : Bacchu appointed 1,553 people violating rules
An internal investigation of the state-owned BASIC Bank Ltd found that its former chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu had appointed at least 1,553 employees at different positions of the bank from 2011 to 2014 violating banking rules.
According to rules, a bank does not have authority to appoint an employee without forming a committee with a representative of the Banking and Financial Department. The then chairman ignored the rule in recruiting employees, the report said.
During the period, Bacchu also promoted 57 officials ignoring the rules of the central bank, the report said.
The bank prepared the report to submit to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry after the committee sought it from the bank on September 1.
From a board meeting held on July 29, 2010, Bacchu violated the instruction of the central bank on recruitment.
The meeting minutes read ‘it is further resolved that the chairman of the board is hereby empowered to award promotion/recruit in the said post of
deputy managing director, general manager and deputy general manager as and when required. The management is advised to act accordingly.’
About the promotion of the 57 officials, a bank-appointed audit firm in its report said ‘most of these accelerated promotions were awarded as a carrot or an incentive to buy off the loyalty towards the unlawful, illegitimate and criminal activates. The then chairman must be held responsible for approving/awarding accelerated promotions to the subject executives and officials of the bank with malafide intention.’
The bank report said in most cases the recruitment was carried out without any committee, while sometimes committees were formed in name only.
The report also said Bacchu attached slips on the resumes of his preferred candidates, mentioning the post and position in which to appoint them, for the bank’s officials to follow through.
The report mentioned the most irregularities were committed at the head office, local office, Shantinagar branch and Gulshan branch of the bank as its chairman appointed some officials at the branches who were earlier suspended at other banks for committing irregularities.
On July 8, 2014, the government dissolved the board of directors of the state-owned Bangladesh Small Industries and Commerce Bank Limited where several thousand crore takas had been misappropriated through the approval of ‘shady’ loans.
The new board has taken departmental action against a total of 60 officials and staff members of the bank for their alleged involvement with irregularities in sanctioning loans and recruitment.
Meanwhile, the board started scrutinising the certificates and other documents of the employees who were appointed between 2010 and 2014, the report said.
After a three-year inquiry, the Anti-Corruption Commission in September filed a total of 56 cases against 120 people, including 27 bankers, 82 businessman and 11 private surveyors, on charge of their alleged involvement of embezzlement of Tk 2,100 crore, dropping prime suspect Bacchu’s name from the charges.
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