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Published : 24 Feb 2026, 12:42 PM
Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Mir Ahmad Bin Quasem Arman has met Bangladesh Bank governor with a proposal to bring foreign investment into Nagad, the Bangladesh Post Office-run mobile financial services (MFS) provider that has been at the centre of multiple controversies.
Barrister Arman, elected from Dhaka-14 in the 13th parliamentary election, says he is now waiting for the BNP government’s position as Nagad’s ownership remains unclear.
His law firm is acting as the local representative in Bangladesh for a foreign company interested in investing in Nagad.
He went to the central bank on Tuesday to discuss the matter with Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur.
After the meeting, he said: “The governor has told me the current BNP government has yet to decide its final policy on Nagad.
“If the government decides to allow private investors to take over, as the interim government intended, only then will the next steps for investment begin.”
Clarifying his role, Arman said he was working not as an MP but as a professional lawyer representing a foreign company. “I have previously worked with international companies like Dell, Microsoft, Apple and Uber. I am now working for them [the potential investor] and will provide legal support.”
He did not specify which country the interested investors are from or on whose behalf he is acting.
Arman said the company has investments in the technology sector and that investors are mainly interested in Bangladesh’s digital banking industry. “They have been exploring investment opportunities since the interim government’s tenure. During discussions with the government, we conveyed their interest.”
Arman had earlier written to the governor expressing interest in conducting an audit to assess whether investment in Nagad would be commercially viable.
Asked whether acting as a local representative for such a company after being elected to parliament amounted to a conflict of interest, he said: “Discussions with the government over investment in Nagad have been ongoing since the interim administration. As a member of an entrepreneurial family, foreign investors chose me.
“Serving in this role does not create any conflict of interest,” he added. “I am in politics to serve people, there is no income here. I work for the country. To support my family, I practise law as a profession. Historically, members of parliament have done so. There is no conflict.”
Earlier, on Aug 25 last year during the interim government’s tenure, Mansur said the government had decided to transfer Nagad from the Directorate of Posts to the private sector. He had indicated that a notice would be issued to seek investors and that ownership could be handed over within three to four months, citing the Post Office’s limited capacity to run the service.
Nagad launched on Mar 26, 2019 as an MFS provider and later received a digital bank licence.
During the previous Awami League government, the company faced allegations of regulatory breaches and undue benefits.
After the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024, Bangladesh Bank appointed an administrator to Nagad on Aug 21 that year, dissolving its previous board.
The High Court later declared the move illegal, after which the posts directorate resumed control.
In February, the central bank filed a case alleging embezzlement and financial irregularities at Nagad, naming 24 individuals, including former chairman Syed Mohammad Kamal and managing director Tanvir Ahmed Mishuk.
According to the case statement, a Bangladesh Bank inspection between Apr 21 and Apr 25, 2024 found a shortfall of more than Tk 1.01 billion in real money against e-money issued under banks’ trust-cum-settlement accounts. The administrator team also reported an e-money shortfall of Tk 6.45 billion and other serious financial irregularities.
The governor had earlier alleged: “Those involved in the previous ownership committed irregularities. Corrections had to be made in many areas.”
On Feb 8, Arman sent a letter to the governor, noting that foreign investors had expressed interest in Nagad and requesting the forensic audit report conducted on Nagad to proceed with detailed discussions.
In a report published on Monday, The Business Standard quoted the governor as saying Bangladesh Bank would only hold discussions with Arman’s law firm if there were “credible foreign investors” interested in Nagad.
The governor told the newspaper he had not officially received Arman’s letter and that a copy circulating on social media did not mention any credible investor.
“The law firm must clearly state who the investors are and what experience they have in the relevant sector,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that if Bangladeshi investors were involved, presenting them as foreign investors would not be acceptable.
