ACC starts probing AB Bank

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) started scrutinising a complaint regarding Tk 350 crore loan approved by AB Bank to a nonexistent company namely “Brandshare Trading.”

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) of Bangladesh Bank sent an intelligence report to the Director General of the Money Laundering Wing of the ACC on May 18 for taking necessary legal steps in this regard.

Following the instruction, the anti-graft watchdog has already started the process to probe the allegation over the graft charges.

Seeking anonymity, an official of the ACC’s money laundering wing on Thursday told The Business Post, “We have already got an intelligence report from the central bank regarding a loan approved by AB Bank to a fake company.”

He also said that the anti-corruption body started scrutinizing the allegation. “If found any substantial evidence of corruption and money laundering incident, it will be produced before the commission for approval to launch an inquiry over the allegation.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the High Court ordered ACC and two other government agencies to conduct a probe into the complaint regarding Tk 350 crore loan approved by AB Bank to the “Brandshare Trading” company.

A bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the Suo Moto order after taking cognisance of a report published in several national dailies, including in The Business Post, regarding this issue.

The HC bench asked the ACC, BFIU and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police to conduct an investigation and submit a report within the next three months.

The court also issued another rule seeking an explanation on why the inaction of concerned parties against those involved in the alleged loan approval will not be declared illegal, and why legal action should not be taken after identifying them.

The ACC chairman, the governor of Bangladesh Bank, the secretary of the finance ministry and the secretary of the Banking and Financial Institutions division of the finance ministry, BFIU, CID, AB bank’s managing director has been asked to respond to the rule within two weeks.

A report published by The Business Post revealed that AB Bank, the country’s first private sector bank, approved Tk 350 crore in loans to Brandshare Trading Ltd, a shell company, by violating banking rules and regulations, as per a BFIU inspection report.

During the submission of the loan applications on January 10 this year, the manager and other officials of the bank’s Gulshan branch helped Brandshare get the massive amount by filing a fake audit report. It said the loans were approved on February 9 through corruption and forgery.

It points out that the loans were approved through collaborative efforts of the private commercial bank’s executive management and Board of Directors and Infratech Construction Company Ltd Managing Director (MD) and CEO Mohammad Ali Haider Ratan.

The loan’s actual beneficiary is a person named Ratan, but Brandshare Trading’s registration and trade licence has been made using the names of Md Ataur Rahman and Md Mamunur Rashid.