Foreign trips: 3 Bangladesh Bank deputy governors denied permission

Allegations have it that the Ministry of Finance’s Financial Institutions Division has blocked four overseas training trips for three deputy governors of Bangladesh Bank.

These training trips were scheduled from July to November, according to sources at the central bank.

Of the four trips, deputy governor Md Kabir Ahmad was supposed to attend two, while the remaining two trips were meant for Md Habibur Rahman and Zakir Hossain Chowdhury, respectively.

Except for the governor and deputy governors, Bangladesh Bank itself approves overseas travel for all other officials. For the governor and deputy governors, a government order (GO) is required. After approval from the financial advisor, the request goes to the office of the chief adviser.

In July, the annual meeting of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) on Islamic finance was held in Morocco. Deputy governor Md Kabir Ahmad was supposed to attend the event. Although a GO was requested from the Financial Institutions Division, no order was ultimately issued.

In September, Bangladesh Bank received an invitation to attend a workshop in France on digital payments and card systems. Deputy governor Zakir Hossain Chowdhury was approved by Bangladesh Bank to attend this trip, and the costs were to be borne by an Indian institution. However, he could not travel because the government order was not issued.

In November, two similar incidents occurred. One was a one-day training workshop of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the United States. Deputy governor Habibur Rahman was nominated by Bangladesh Bank to attend, and the IMF was supposed to cover the costs. But he could not go since no government order was issued.

Last month, another IMF training workshop was scheduled in China. Deputy governor Md Kabir Ahmad was nominated by Bangladesh Bank to attend at IMF’s expense, but he too could not go without government permission.

Regarding this, Bangladesh Bank executive director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan told Prothom Alo that the deputy governors could not participate in several international training sessions and conferences because government approval was not granted.

Bangladesh Bank officials said that most overseas trips are funded by foreign institutions. Yet, some travel approvals are still not granted, and such events have increased since Bangladesh Bank modified its internal orders to reduce government influence on the central bank.

Former chief economist of Bangladesh Bank, Mostafa K Mujeri, told Prothom Alo, “This has basically turned into a struggle for power. The country’s financial sector is already not in good shape, and if this continues, it will worsen further.”

Meanwhile, when asked about the blocking of training trips, the Financial Institutions Division said in a written statement that although the summary for Md Kabir Ahmad’s Morocco trip was sent on 19 June, the chief adviser’s office did not approve it.

Regarding Zakir Hossain Chowdhury’s France trip, the division noted that it was contrary to government instructions. For the one-day IMF workshop in the United States, Md Habibur Rahman informed the division verbally that he would not travel. The summary for Md Kabir Ahmad’s China trip is still with the principal adviser’s office for approval.