Dhaka, Oct 17 (bdnews24.com) - Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith on Wednesday questioned the role of the Bangladesh Bank with regard to the Hall-Mark Group loan scam.
The central bank was 'late' in opening its eyes to the organisation siphoning off Tk 26.06-billion credit from the state-run Sonali Bank against phoney collaterals, Muhith said.
He quipped that the central bank was 'yet to attain maturity'.
"They [the Bangladesh Bank] uncovered the scam in 2010. They did not file any report in 2011. Then suddenly they wake up in 2012."
He also questioned the efficiency of the central bank: "This incident clearly indicates that they lack capability."
The minister was talking to journalists at the Secretariat about various issues on his first working day after a Japan-visit to attend the annual World Bank meeting.
The Tk 36-billion scam, which took place between 2010 and 2012, first came to limelight through a report of the Bangladesh Bank. A textile firm Hall-Mark Group drew over Tk 26 billion alone.
The Anti Corruption Commission started probing the incident amidst massive reporting in the media and filed 11 cases against 27 people, including Hall-Mark MD Tanvir Mahmud and former Sonali Bank manager Azizur Rahman, on Oct 4. The duo was arrested along with the Group's General Manager Tushar Ahmed.
On Wednesday, the current Sonali Bank Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Pradip Kumar Dutta told journalists that the Group had already returned Tk 2.32 billion of the amount scammed and expressed hopes to get back the remaining Tk 480 million soon.
IMF loan disbursement
Finance Minister also told journalists that they are discussing about disbursal of the second instalment of credit under the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Extended Credit Facility (ECF). The first instalment was $1 billion.
"I am hoping that the IMF will disburse the second instalment by November," he added.
He said that they have discussed three issues with the IMF including changing the Value Added Tax laws, ceiling of bank investment in the capital market and the central bank's control on the state-run banks.
"We do not have any complications about the VAT law...it will be solved. They [IMF] have talked about bank investment in the capital market and advised to set the ceiling at 25 percent of their paid-up capital. We have urged setting it at 40 percent."
"Currently, the bank's can invest up to 10 percent of their total capital. However, if that is changed to 25 percent of their paid-up capital, then it will be too low compared to that."
"So we have urged for setting the ceiling at 40 percent initially and then gradually lowering it to 30 and then 25 percent."
The IMF had urged the government to increase the Central Bank's control over the state-run banks, the Finance Minister added.
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