3 SBAC Bank officials get suspended

Three officials of South Bangla Agriculture & Commerce (SBAC) Bank, including its chief financial officer (CFO), have been suspended until further notice over a fake letter in the name of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).

The SBAC management on Tuesday suspended CFO Md Masoodur Rahman, Chief Anti Money Laundering Compliance Officer Md Majibur Rahman and Khulna KDA corporate branch manager Bidhan Kumar Saha, said officials of the bank, seeking anonymity.

Before the move, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) on May 30 asked the managing director of SBAC Bank why no punitive action will be taken against the bank as it asked information on its branch over using the BFIU name.

A letter saying “The BFIU asked for the account information of Project 600 crore of former Khulna City Corporation Mayor Talukdar Abdul Khalek,” and signed by CFO Md Masoodur Rahman, was sent to the Khulna KDA corporate branch.

The BFIU however stated that the agency did not take this initiative, adding that the bank violated the BFIU rules by sending a letter using the BFIU name.

The Business Post had reached out to SBAC Bank Managing Director and CEO Habibur Rahman over phone for further clarifications, but he declined to comment on the matter.

Talukdar Abdul Khalek, who will be participating in the upcoming Khulna City Corporation (KCC) polls, was a member in the board of directors of SBAC Bank, while SM Amzad Hossain was the chairman.

Now Abdul Kadir Molla is the chairman of the board of directors of the new generation bank.