ACC interrogates 5 BDBL officials

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) quizzed five Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) officials on Wednesday allegedly for giving Tk 500 billion loan to ineligible individuals and obscure companies without mortgages and with fake mortgages.

General managers Nazmul Bari, Khalilur Rahman Chowdhury, ASM Ziaul Haque, adviser Khandaker Mahmudul Hasan and deputy general manager Solaiman Ali faced the interrogation by ACC officials in the first phase on Wenesday.

ACC spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya told UNB that a notice was served on 7 October to 10 BDBL officials for facing ACC interrogation at ACC office on 17th and 19th October.

These officials included two deputy managing directors (DMD), three senior officers, three former general managers and some other officers.

Earlier, Zillur Rahman, former managing director (MD) of BDBL, also faced similar allegations. Then ACC decided to investigate the allegations against him after initial scrutiny in February this year.

ACC assistant director Gulshan Anwar Prodhan is investigating the loan scams of BDBL and summoned 10 existing and retired officials of BDBL after collecting all relevant documents for purpose of the investigation.

On other hand, DMD Dilwar Hossain Bhuiyan and Deena Ahsan, AGM Syed Nazrul Islam, senior principal officers Sirajul Islam and Shyamol Kumar Das have been asked to appear before ACC on 19 October.

Bank statements, memorandum of understanding (MOU), loan applications, credit committee's approval and board resolutions from 65th and 66th board meetings were sought from BDBL by ACC in connection with the loan racket which is suspected to be involved with a company named MM Vegetables.

Similar documents were also sought from BDBL by the anti-corruption body to look into a loan scam which is associated with another client named Dhaka Trading House.

Papers related to the loans paid to Tatka Agro Industry Limited and AHZ Agro Industries Private Limited were also sought by ACC.