Opposition Chief Whip Nahid Islam has said that the BNP government has opened the door to plundering in the financial sector by removing Ahsan H Mansur from the post of Governor of Bangladesh Bank.
He made the remark in a verified Facebook post at 12:50 am on Wednesday night.
In the post, Nahid Islam, convener of the National Citizen Party (NCP), wrote, “From the outset of assuming office, Ahsan H Mansur achieved considerable success in restoring discipline to the financial sector. He implemented several reforms in the banking sector successfully. As a result, the financial sector began to recover to some extent.”
Nahid Islam further wrote, “Ahsan H Mansur took very firm steps to repatriate funds that had been laundered during the fascist government’s tenure. In coordination with the World Bank and other international financial institutions, he made every effort to recover the hard-earned money of the people of this country. In addition, this economist initiated measures to curb money laundering carried out under the guise of import–export trade.”
Nahid stated in the post that Ahsan H Mansur had taken the initiative to establish Bangladesh Bank as a constitutional institution in order to ensure the autonomy of the central bank.
He expressed the view that, had this been implemented, it would largely have prevented overt interference by ruling party-affiliated business interests in the banking sector.
In the post, Nahid alleged: “These reforms had begun to curb the scope for plundering by vested interests aligned with the BNP and the Awami League, which angered Governor Ahsan H Mansur. After the elected government assumed office, officials aligned with the BNP and the Awami League, with the government’s patronage, sought to take control of and destabilise the central bank. They acted recklessly, disregarding the bank’s rules and regulations.”
Nahid further wrote, “In continuation of this, on Wednesday the country’s central bank witnessed a shameless mob of BNP and Awami League-aligned officials. They physically assaulted the Governor’s adviser and forcibly removed him from the central bank. Several officials, including Naushad Mostafa, Sarwar, Masum Billah, and Golam Mostafa Srabon, led this disgraceful attack. They are currently identified within the bank as BNP-aligned. Among them, Masum Billah and Golam Mostafa Srabon were elected president and general secretary of the Bangladesh Bank Welfare Association from the Awami-aligned ‘Blue Panel’.”
Nahid described the appointment of a new Governor without informing Ahsan H Mansur as deeply disrespectful. He stated that recent events had made clear the involvement of higher levels of government.
In the post, Nahid Islam also commented on the newly appointed Governor, Md Mostaqur Rahman.
He wrote, “This is not the end; in an unprecedented move, the government appointed a controversial party-affiliated businessman as governor of the central bank. The new governor is a (former) loan defaulter. He had defaulted on a loan of Tk 890.2 million (89.2 crore) at Mutual Trust Bank PLC. In June last year, the bank rescheduled his loan for 10 years on special consideration with a 2 per cent down payment."
“There is no scope to believe that the country’s highest banking authority and financial sector will remain safe in the hands of such an unethical beneficiary businessman. This clearly demonstrates that the government intends to arrange fresh plunder in the banking sector and financial arena, similar to the fascist era.”
Nahid Islam condemned the removal of Ahsan H Mansur and the appointment of a new governor. He called for the central bank to be entrusted to an honest, competent and experienced economist.