Who are behind the Sikders?

It was around five years ago. I went to the Ramna corporate branch of Sonali Bank regarding my mother’s pension. I was sitting in the general manager’s room. We normally shared a good chat at other times, but that day he seemed disturbed and I asked him if anything was wrong. He replied that he was under pressure to provide a loan against his will. He was helplessly looking for a solution.

I have heard similar stories about other banks too. I had read in the newspapers about the Hall-Mark scandal and the role of ruling party persons as well as a former advisor of the government in the scam. So there was nothing really unbelievable about all this anymore.

We are well aware that influential people take loans in this manner and do not return these for years on end. Such default loans have exceeded over Tk 1000 billion (Tk100,000 crore) in this country according to government records, and IMF contends this is much higher.

However, perhaps we couldn’t image how far things could go to get these loans until this recent incident of the two directors of Sikder Group. This shocking incident reeked with crime, corruption and a total lack of ethics.

Firstly the owners of Sikder Group, Ron Haque Sikder and Rick Haque Sikder put pressure on Exim Bank for a Tk 5 billion (Tk 500 crore) loan against property far below the claimed value. As the bank’s managing director and additional managing director refused to provide the loan, they were held up and shot at. They were abducted and taken to Sikder House where they were detained for hours, threatened and tortured. This was nothing short of the mafia movie with the lives of two top ranking bankers being threatened for a loan.

The Sikder Group is close to important leaders of the government. A member of the Sikder family is a nominated member of parliament of the ruling party. The incident of the Sikder brothers has exposed the arrogant audacity of the powerful people to openly commit serious criminal offence and it has also revealed the total anarchy in the country’s banking system. Just for the sake of proving that these actions of the Sikders were not condoned by the government, they should have been arrested after the charges were filled. At least they should have been prevented from fleeing the country.

But we watch in shock as nothing of this happened. On the contrary, within six days of the case being filed, and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, they easily just flew out of the country to Bangkok. And that too with the help of various quarters of the government.

We feel ashamed to even believe all of this. But could it be possible for the two accused persons in this sensational case to slip through the city to the only airport of the capital and simply fly off, unless they had help for some quarters within the government?

It seems that certain government offices and ministries were directly involved in the Sikder brothers’ flight from the country on 25 May.

One, the Bangladesh embassy in Thailand issued letters for them to be given visas and also for permission for their personal aircraft to land in Bangkok. When bdnews asked the foreign minister about the matter, he did not directly refute this, but simply said they didn’t know.

Two, the civil aviation authority was also involved in giving permission for them to leave the country in the guise of patients, though they were facing criminal charges. They claim that the foreign ministry had submitted the application for the Sikders’ aircraft to be allowed to fly to Thailand as an air ambulance.

The investigating police also displayed reluctance to arrest the accused and investigate the case. Before they ‘fled’ to Bangkok, the police told Prothom Alo that they were trying to arrest them. After they fled, the police said that they did not receive orders from the higher authorities to arrest them. The airport police said they did not prevent the Sikders from leaving as they did not have any instructions in this regard. Under normal circumstances the police detain certain eminent persons in the airport for hours and hours, even without any case, yet there were no orders to stop these persons accused in a sensational attempted murder case! Or did any quarter issue orders to facilitate their exit?

Our ministers often declare zero tolerance against crime and criminals, no matter who they may be. We have seen this zero-tolerance rule being violated many times in the past. No action was taken against the incident were a hammer was used in a brutal attack. Many notorious criminals convicted of murder have been granted presidential pardon. But have we ever seen such blatant obeisance by government institutions towards persons accused of attempted murder?

We want to believe that none of this injustice in favour of the Sikders has been done in the knowledge of the highest level of government. That is why we want to see the government taking exemplary punitive action against all of those in the foreign ministry, the civil aviation authorities and the police involved in the matter as well as the physician who provided the false medical certificates.

During these coronavirus times, a former foreign minister left the country in a personal jet and so did a prominent businessman. Such incidents may be unwarranted. But it is most unfortunate how two persons just accused in an attempted murder case have shown total disregard to the government by arranging for visas, pretending to be patients and openly flying off from the international airport. The leaders of the state must realise the gravity of the incident.

* This piece has been rewritten in English by Ayesha Kabir