Published : 27 Sep 2026, 06:13 PM
Updated : 27 Sep 2026, 06:35 PM
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to bring charges against former Beximco Group vice-chairman Salman F Rahman, his son Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman and 23 others over allegations of embezzling more than Tk 5.38 billion from IFIC Bank and laundering the money.
The ACC announced the decision at a media briefing on Sunday, with commission Secretary Saidur Rahman Khan saying the case concerns loans obtained in the name of Skymark International.
According to the graft buster, IFIC Bank approved Tk 5.45 billion in overdraft loans for Skymark in three instalments without properly assessing its ability to repay.
Of that amount, Tk 5.38 billion was allegedly withdrawn in cash or through transfers and misappropriated.
The commission also alleges that the money was laundered through cash withdrawals, transfers, handovers and conversions to conceal its source and destination.
Salman was a former chairman of IFIC Bank and a former private industry and investment advisor to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
His son Shayan was a former vice-chairman of the bank.
Among the other suspects are Skymark International Managing Director Abdullah Al-Manzur and Director Ishrat Jahan, along with several former and current directors and officials of IFIC Bank.
Skymark was first approved for a Tk 900 million overdraft facility on Aug 23, 2022.
The limit was raised to Tk 1.45 billion on Jan 10, 2023, before being increased to Tk5.45 billion on June 25, 2024.
When the facility was raised for the final time, a proposal to take 650 decimals of land as collateral was put on hold, the investigation found. The mortgage was never completed.
The ACC's investigation found that the borrower's business premises and warehouse were never inspected before the loan was disbursed.
Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, the entrepreneurs' business experience, financial capacity, assets and liabilities, audited financial statements and tax payment records were also not properly verified.
The bank also allegedly failed to properly assess the purpose of the loan, how earlier loans had been used and whether there was sufficient justification for increasing the credit limit, according to the commission.
As of Jul 23, interest and other charges on the loan stood at Tk 665.34 million, while the outstanding balance was Tk 6.05 billion, the ACC said.
The commission has counted the amount as a financial loss for the bank.
It is also investigating allegations that Salman and Shayan secured approval, disbursement and misappropriation of Tk 71.29 billion in loans through 14 “fake and paper” companies from IFIC Bank.
The Tk 5.38 billion Skymark loan is part of that wider investigation.
