Samabaya Bank’s 12,000 bhori gold missing

Staff Reporter :

About 12,000 bhori gold from Bangladesh Samabaya Bank have gone missing, Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives Adviser AF Hassan Ariff said on Sunday.

“The assets of the bank are being expropriated,” the adviser told reporters after attending the 57th Annual Planning Conference of Bangladesh Rural Development Academy (BARD) in Cumilla.

According to the current price of 22-carat gold, 12,000 bhori gold is worth approximately Tk162.79 crore. However, the adviser did not provide details of the missing 12,000 bhori gold.

He further disclosed an investigative committee has been formed. Legal actions are being initiated in this regard.

Speaking at the conference, Ariff said, “Cooperatives are not able to stand up because of the lack of cooperative mentality among them. They only want to join committees. They have no interest in development.”

The conference highlighted the BRDA’s ongoing research and initiatives in rural development and cooperatives in Bangladesh.

The event featured special guests including PPRC Chairman Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, local government expert Professor Dr Tofail Ahmed, and BRDA Director General Saif Uddin Ahmed.

It was chaired by Mosammat Shahaanara Khatun, secretary of the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division of the Ministry of LGRD.