Published : 11 Aug 2025, 01:56 AM
Updated : 21 Aug 2026, 01:38 PM
Labour Advisor M Sakhawat Hossain has alleged that a single garment company borrowed staggering Tk 482.48 billion from 16 banks and seven financial institutions, with no clear explanation of where the money went.
Speaking at a Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) discussion on Sunday, he said efforts were under way to recover the funds.
“From Janata Bank alone, it took nearly Tk 240 billion,” Sakhawat said, adding that the state-run lender had not given a satisfactory explanation for approving the financing.
He also blamed banking regulators for failing to prevent it.
The advisor said the case illustrated how institutional structures had collapsed under the previous administration.
He recalled that when he took office, law and order was fragile, police were reluctant to return to duty after stations were burned, and many officials had fled.
“Where else have you heard of a central bank governor absconding? Three from Bangladesh, including the so-called banker to the poor, are on the run,” he said.
Sakhawat described the current climate as one where people can speak freely “without fear of abduction or killing”, noting that the number of labour leaders in jail had dropped from 42 when he took charge to just one.
He accused some garment owners of siphoning off workers’ money abroad while failing to pay wages. His ministry, he said, had seized properties and deeds from several such owners, with plans to sell them within days to repay loans from the Workers’ Central Fund.
The advisor stressed that unpaid wages predated the interim government and were enforced through fear.
Responding to criticism, he said he had to tolerate abuse without retaliation: “If there’s been failure, it’s not mine alone, it’s yours too.”
