The print and electronic media for the last few days are abuzz with the details of the money siphoned off from some Islamic banks, including the country’s largest private bank—Islami Bank, Bangladesh, allegedly by a leading business group.
But none knows for sure the actual volume of money involved in the scam that has all the potential of becoming an unprecedented one.
A leading Bangla daily broke the news some days ago about the irregular sanctioning of loans involving a huge amount of money. Some non-existent firms, according to the report, also got loans worth billions of Taka. The news even prompted the head of government to seek a report from the agencies concerned on the issue.
The loan scam has triggered a public uproar of an unprecedented scale. No wonder, it is being discussed everywhere. The central bank, which is legally responsible for detecting loan anomalies in the banking sector, is reportedly investigating the matter.
The allegation is there that the business group has siphoned off funds worth Taka one trillion from the banks in which it had bought controlling stakes over the last few years. The amount being mentioned is just a guesstimate, as there is no way of knowing about the actual volume without a thorough probe by the banking sector regulator.
The central bank, undeniably, has been indifferent to this gross irregularity, deliberately or otherwise.
When the…
