Under-fire BFIU chief Shahinul attends office despite being placed on leave

AFM Shahinul Islam, the head of Bangladesh’s Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), has reportedly been seen attending office a day after the central bank governor said he had been placed on leave pending an investigation into a viral video.

On Tuesday, Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur said that an inquiry had been launched into the chief of the anti-money laundering unit following the circulation of a video on social media that drew widespread criticism.

Further decisions regarding Shahinul would be taken based on the investigation report, Mansur added.

But on Wednesday, Shahinul was seen at his office at the Bangladesh Bank headquarters.

Shahinul was appointed as the head of the BFIU for a two-year term in January. He was previously an executive director of Bangladesh Bank.

Attempts to reach him for comment went unanswered.

However, some media outlets quoted him as saying that the video was spread with the intention to humiliate.