Despite the country’s changed political landscape, irregularities and alleged corruption have reportedly continued at Bangladesh Commerce Bank. Nearly Tk 50 crore was allegedly misappropriated in June under the banner of the “Ujjibon Deposit Campaign-2026.” Of the amount, Tk 40 crore was reportedly distributed as incentives among 13 bank officials, while questions have been raised over the whereabouts of the remaining amount and the possible involvement of senior officials.
The alleged withdrawal of the money from the bank’s head office branch was reportedly led by Managing Director (MD) Mohammad Obaidul Haque’s personal secretary (PS), Md Hamidur Rahman, and Head of the Treasury Division Md Delwar Hossain. The alleged involvement of the MD has also been mentioned in a special inspection report by Bangladesh Bank.
Following an investigation, Bangladesh Bank held the bank’s management responsible for the irregularities and recommended the highest level of disciplinary action against 13 officials.
Economists have said that such allegations of irregularities and embezzlement in the banking sector are unacceptable, even after the country’s political transition on August 5, 2024. They called for swift and exemplary action against those responsible.
Economist Abu Ahmed said corruption was still prevalent in the banking sector, which was unacceptable. He urged Bangladesh Bank to take strong action against those involved.
“Exemplary punishment must be ensured so that such incidents do not recur under the country’s changed circumstances. Otherwise, irregularities in the banking sector will not stop,” he said.
Tk 40 Crore Paid as Incentives
According to Bangladesh Bank’s special inspection report, a total of Tk 40 crore was paid as incentives to 13 officials of Bangladesh Commerce Bank under the “Ujjibon Deposit Campaign-2026.” The money was withdrawn through 14 cheques.
According to the report, Tk 3.04 crore was withdrawn through nine cheques on June 4, while another Tk 96 lakh was withdrawn through five cheques on June 7. Thus, a total of Tk 4 crore was withdrawn over the two days.
The report further said that Tk 5 crore brought from Bangladesh Bank to the head office branch of Commerce Bank was initially kept in three jute sacks. The money was subsequently repacked into six sacks. CCTV footage reportedly showed two officials leaving the branch with the money.
Questions Over Board Approval
The Bangladesh Bank report said the bank’s board, at its meeting on April 16, set a target of collecting Tk 270.77 crore in new deposits under the “Ujjibon” campaign. The campaign was initially scheduled to run from April 15 to May 14.
Although the campaign was later extended until June 30, the extension reportedly did not receive approval from the bank’s board of directors.
Despite this, the bank paid Tk 4 crore in incentives to 13 officials against the collection of Tk 100 crore in deposits. This amounted to an incentive of Tk 4 for every Tk 100 in deposits collected.
According to the report, the officials who received the incentives included MD’s PS Md Hamidur Rahman, who received Tk 80 lakh; FAVP Mohammad Yusuf Siddiq Ullah, Tk 80 lakh; AVP Saleh Ahmed, Tk 20 lakh; Officer Md Sarwar, Tk 8 lakh; and FAVP Sujon Das, Tk 8 lakh.
AVP Tashnuva Majumder, Md Ahsan Habib and PO Md Adnan Shafik reportedly received Tk 40 lakh each.
The other officials named in the report are Mohammad Delwar Hossain, Md Monirul Haque, Rifat-ul-Mursalin, Saifur Rahman and Shahinur Rahman.
Officials Raise Questions Over Cheques
Several officials claimed that they had handed over signed cheques to the marketing department but were not present at the branch when the money was withdrawn.
They reportedly claimed that the money was withdrawn as “bearer” transactions.
However, after examining the cheques preserved at the head office branch, Bangladesh Bank found that there were no names or signatures on the back of the cheques.
MD Denies Allegations
Contacted by phone on Wednesday, Commerce Bank Managing Director Md Obaidul Haque said the matter was not as it had been portrayed.
He claimed that the transaction had been carried out with verbal approval from the bank’s board of directors and that written approval had subsequently been provided.
“If we could meet in person, I could explain the matter in greater detail,” he said.
CCTV Footage Shows Two Officials Taking Money
According to the Bangladesh Bank inspection report, Tk 5 crore brought from Bangladesh Bank was placed in the vault of Commerce Bank’s head office branch at around 11:45am on June 4. The money was later packed into six jute sacks.
A review of CCTV footage reportedly showed MD’s PS Md Hamidur Rahman and Head of Treasury Md Delwar Hossain opening the sacks and taking the money.
The two officials subsequently left the branch in a black car carrying Tk 3.04 crore.
On June 7, they reportedly withdrew another Tk 96 lakh and left the branch. Thus, a total of Tk 4 crore was taken out of the branch through the two officials over the two days, according to the report.
A review of the bank’s vehicle logbook, CCTV footage and the driver’s statement reportedly showed that Delwar Hossain and Hamidur Rahman travelled to Uttara Club on June 4 and Gulshan Club on June 7 in the same vehicle.
Irregularities in Accounting Records
The inspection also uncovered further irregularities in the withdrawal and recording of the transactions.
According to the report, a cash transaction involving Tk 4 crore was carried out at around 1:30pm on June 4. Cheques were issued to provide the money to the accounts of 13 officials by showing it as an advance expense.
However, the transaction was posted in the bank’s ledger at around 7pm.
In other words, the cash was reportedly withdrawn before the corresponding transaction had been posted in the accounts.
The Bangladesh Bank report said the incident was not isolated. Previously, Tk 11.94 crore had reportedly been withdrawn from the head office branch’s suspense account through 29 separate entries at different times. These amounts were shown as expenses related to business development and deposit mobilisation.
The bank’s Internal Control and Compliance Department later conducted an audit into the matter.
Previous Irregularities Allegedly Linked to Delwar
The report also highlighted allegations of previous irregularities involving Head of Treasury Md Delwar Hossain.
According to the report, during his tenure at the bank’s head office branch, Delwar withdrew Tk 11.59 crore at different times from the suspense account in the name of business development.
In addition, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Delwar Hossain and eight others at its Dhaka-1 Integrated District Office.
According to the first information report (FIR), Delwar Hossain was accused of misappropriating Tk 74.60 crore from the bank.
The FIR also alleged that he failed to repatriate the proceeds from the export of sweaters worth US$703,000 to the United Kingdom.
The case was filed on July 11, 2023.
The Bangladesh Bank report further stated that Delwar Hossain had previously lost his job at NRBC Bank over serious financial irregularities.
According to the report, under the Bank Company Act, a person deemed ineligible for employment at a bank cannot subsequently be employed by another bank. Despite this provision, he was allegedly appointed by Commerce Bank.
Bangladesh Bank Recommends Dismissal
In light of the alleged irregularities, Bangladesh Bank recommended that Md Delwar Hossain and Md Hamidur Rahman be dismissed from their jobs and that disciplinary action be taken against them.
The central bank also recommended the highest level of disciplinary action against the 13 officials allegedly involved in the irregularities.
The findings of Bangladesh Bank’s special inspection have raised fresh questions about internal controls, accountability and corporate governance at Bangladesh Commerce Bank.
Banking-sector observers believe that if the allegations are substantiated, exemplary action should be taken to ensure accountability and strengthen governance in the banking sector.