Islami Bank seeks nearly 10,000C repayment from 5 Shariah banks
Bangladesh’s largest Shariah-based bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, has demanded the immediate return of its dues of nearly Tk10, 000 crore from five Shariah-based banks.
At the same time, it has also sought assistance from state-owned Janata Bank to recover the dues.
Islami Bank chairman Prof M Zubaidur Rahman raised the issue in a meeting held with Governor Mostakur Rahman at the Bangladesh Bank head office on Tuesday.
The meeting was attended by members of the bank’s board of directors, managing director (MD) and senior officials.
According to sources in the meeting, the chairman of Islami Bank highlighted the issue of the bank’s pending nearly Tk10, 000 crore from five Shariah-based banks and demanded its immediate return.
It was also mentioned that the bank also owes money to state-owned Janata Bank.
In addition, the meeting was informed that Islami Bank owes about Tk1, 000 crore to the central bank for remittance incentives.
The meeting sought the central bank’s cooperation in recovering large loans.
At the same time, a request was made to grant exemptions in provisioning under special conditions.
Islami Bank also sought advice from the governor on how to continue business relations with large industrial groups.
Governor Mostakur Rahman assured that these issues would be considered seriously and said that necessary decisions would be announced soon after reviewing the issues.
A senior official of Bangladesh Bank said that in the meeting, the governor wanted to know what kind of obstacles there are in the current business operations of Islami Bank.
The relevant departments have been instructed to review this issue and determine what to do.
Earlier, on February 17, Bangladesh Bank removed Md. Abdul Jalil, a member of the board of directors of Islami Bank, and appointed accountant SM Abdul Hamid in his place.
It is worth noting that from 2017 until the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, Islami Bank was under the control of S Alam Group.
During this time, there are allegations of withdrawing about Tk120, 000 crore from the bank in the name and name of the bank.
In addition, about 10,000 officials were appointed illegally, which put the bank in a major crisis.
After the interim government took office in 2024, the board of directors of Islami Bank was restructured.
At that time, some top-level officials left the country. Md. Abdul Jalil was included as a member of the restructured board.
This was the second meeting of Governor Mostakur Rahman with the board of directors of Islami Bank.
Earlier, in the first meeting, the governor said that Islami Bank was once one of the strongest banks in the country, but there was a deficit in governance in the middle.
The central bank will provide necessary support to stabilize the bank.
Meanwhile, a report by Bangladesh Bank sent to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) said that S Alam Group has taken loans of about Tk190,000 crore from four of the eight banks it controls directly and indirectly through share ownership.
According to the Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), information has been received that Tk93, 364 crore has been laundered through fraud in the name of paper and fake institutions from four of these banks.
Out of Tk190, 000 crore, about Tk150, 000 crore has been taken from Islami Bank.
The report said that S Alam Group’s chairman Saiful Alam Masud and his related institutions have taken these loans directly or through intermediaries by exerting influence from the banks under their control.
