Janata Bank – a state owned commercial bank – provided massive facilities to the Beximco Group, which is run by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s private industry and investment adviser Salman Fazlur Rahman.
The bank provided Tk 4,974 crore in total to the Beximco Group, with Tk 1,713.68 crore as restructured loans.
According to the Janata Bank annual report of 2022, the three sister concerns of Beximco Group –Beximco Ltd, Beximco Fashion and Beximco Pharma – has received Tk 1,421.27 crore, Tk 900.21 crore and Tk 694.4 crore respectively as loans from the bank.
The three companies’ total loan from the bank stood at Tk 3,015 crore at the end of 2022. The Janata Bank annual report however claims that the conglomerate is not in default.
Speaking to The Business Post on condition of anonymity, a number of Janata Bank officials say the group may have used strategic planning to keep its name out from the defaulted list. Paying 2 per cent down payment and taking benefits like loan restructuring are effective ways to do just that.
There are allegations that Salman F Rahman used his influence as an adviser to the prime minister to issue circulars through the Bangladesh Bank for getting those facilities. Under those circumstances, Janata Bank provided a loan restructuring facility of Tk 1,713 crore to the Beximco Group till date.
The Business Post attempted to contact a deputy managing director in charge of Janata Bank’s loan wing to discuss the Beximco Group loan status, but he could not be reached till filing of this report. Central bank spokesperson Mezbaul Haque also declined to comment on the matter.
However, asking not to be named, a senior central bank official said, “Loans that have complaints will be audited. There are certain institutions that have received loans by complying with rules and regulations. But it is true that some are embezzlement.
“Those will be investigated and brought under the legal process.”
Alongside the loan restructuring facility, Janata Bank also invested hundreds of crores of taka in the securities of BEXIMCO Group in the capital market. There are allegations that this investment is also influenced by Salman F Rahman.
According to the annual report, the bank invested Tk220 crore in the Beximco Green Sukuk bond – issued by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) in January, 2022.
The Sukuk was issued for the purpose of construction of the solar projects of Teesta Solar and Korotoa Solar, the two subsidiaries of Beximco Power Company, and financing and refinancing the machinery and equipment required for Beximco's textile division expansion, according to a disclosure.
Besides, the state owned commercial bank invested Tk 92,704,832 into Beximco Pharma and Tk 156,454,461 into Beximco Ltd shares in the stock market.
Although the two companies perform well in the capital market, the huge amount of reserves held by these companies is not invested. Beximco has Tk 7,385 crore and Beximco Pharma has Tk 3,395 crore, reserves according to the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
Beximco group Co-Founder and Vice Chairman Salman F Rahman is a popular name in the financial sector. He was blamed for the capital market scandal in 1996 and his name came up in the finance ministry’s investigation report for capital market manipulation of 2010.
Despite this much criticism, he was appointed the prime minister’s private industry and investment adviser. Besides, he is a lawmaker for Dhaka Dohar Constituency. After the Hasina regime's fall through the students' revolution, he was arrested by the police on August 13.
