BFIU summons bank transaction details of three ex-governors, six deputies

The Financial Intelligence Unit has asked banks to forward financial records flagged for inquiry

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has summoned detailed account information of nine former top officials of Bangladesh Bank, including three former governors and six deputy governors, as part of a financial inquiry.

On Wednesday, the BFIU wrote to all banks requesting transaction records, account opening forms, and related documents for the individuals in question, the managing director of a private bank told bdnews24.com on condition of anonymity.

The list includes former governors Atiur Rahman, Fazle Kabir, and Abdur Rouf Talukder.

Following the fall of the Awami League government on Aug 5 last year, officials of Bangladesh Bank had joined protests demanding the resignation of the then-governor, deputy governors, the BFIU chief, and the bank’s policy advisor.

Rouf resigned shortly after unrest erupted inside the central bank.

He had been appointed governor in July 2022, cutting short his tenure as senior finance secretary.

Atiur left the country after the government change.

He held the governorship from 2009 to 2016, a period that saw the 2016 reserve heist, revealed only weeks later through foreign media, sparking global headlines.

Kabir served as governor from 2016 to 2022.

Among the six former deputies, SK Sur Chowdhury is currently in jail in a graft case started by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Also named are SM Moniruzzaman, Kazi Sayedur Rahman and Abu Farah Md Naser -- all of whom stepped down under pressure after last year’s protests.

Former BFIU chief Md Masud Biswas, now also in jail on corruption charges, is on the list, along with his predecessor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan.