# Chairman uses two offices violating rules
# Massive irregularities in recruitment
# Promotion and increment without rules
# Additional expenses at board meetings
Bangladesh Bank (BB) found evidence of irregularities, corruption, nepotism, promotion and increment violating rules, excessive expenditure in board meetings, and recruitment of 4,000 contractual workers in NRBC Bank against some directors including chairman of the Bank Parvez Tamal.
Besides, a written test and a viva examination were held in the morning and the afternoon of the same day and the ownership of the forfeitable shares in the name of the chairman's business partner was also taken. They have been accused of interfering unfairly in the bank's activities.
This information has been found in a report of the central bank. A copy of the report was obtained by The Daily Post.
On the other hand, to take action against the irregularities of NRBC Bank Chairman Parvez Tamal, Vice Chairman Rafiqul Islam Mia Arju and Executive Committee Chairman Adnan Imam, Tohel Ahmed, entrepreneur shareholder of the bank, Sonaor Ali, entrepreneur director Md Enayet Hossain, entrepreneur director Mohammad Jahangir Alam, entrepreneur director Sarwar Zaman Chowdhury, entrepreneurial shareholder SM Golam Rabbani Chowdhury and entrepreneurial shareholder Sakhawat Ali filed a written complaint on February 6 this year.
The letter was sent to the bank's Managing Director Golam Aulia, Finance Minister, Prime Minister's Principal Secretary, Cabinet Secretary, BB Governor, Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Financial Institutions Division Secretary, BFIU chief, BB FICSD Director and Director of Banking Regulation and Policy Division of BB.
Meanwhile, the central bank's Financial Integrity and Customer Services Department (FISD) visited in 2022, but so far the central bank has not taken any action against the chairman and directors concerned. The central bank has also been accused of not taking any action against NRBC Bank for mysterious reasons even after knowing all the irregularities. Despite knowing everything, the central bank was silent for so long.
Enayet Hossain, entrepreneur director of NRBC Bank, said, "We have complained several times, but nothing is working. The central bank is also managed. The central bank knows everything. If the central bank had taken action against them, the situation would not have come to this stage."
Meanwhile, NRBC Bank has been accused of recruiting most of the recruits through various irregularities and corruption. On the basis of a complaint that recruitment is being done in exchange for Tk 6 to 9 lakh per person, the central bank has found the truth of irregularities. The central bank's inspection revealed that online applications were taken for the recruitment of 105 trainee officers. The bank invited a total of 304 candidates for the exam on April 9, 2022.
The appointment was finalized with an oral examination in the afternoon of the same day in the abnormal speed of the written test in the morning. Of those appointed, 96 are in the last stage of service between 29 and 30 years. There was no age information on all four. The central bank's inspection team said it was unusual for most of the selected to be over 29 years old. This proves that such a test has been organized to appoint predetermined people. The online application of 15 people who participated in the recruitment test was also not received. Although it was not possible to investigate the allegations of taking money from the chairman, the BB inspection report said that there may have been corruption in the recruitment process due to the non-transparent process of taking the test and selecting the candidates with unprofessionalism.
Then, according to the human resources policy of NRBC Bank, an officer can be given a maximum of three increments at a time on the basis of performance evaluation. Again, there should be at least two years of ACR for promotion. This rule was not followed in the promotion of some officials including Kazi Mohammad Safayet Kabir, Md Zafar Iqbal Hawlader and others.
An inspection of BB revealed that 27 officials trusted by the chairman were given four to 13 increments. Without any experience, the board secretary of the bank has been appointed at various levels. On the other hand, some officials of the chairman's dislike have been expelled from the bank by applying pressure in various ways.
According to the instructions of BB, the bank can allocate an office for the chairman. However, the inspection team found that the bank's chairman Parvez Tamal used one office each at its head office in Motijheel and the bank's Gulshan branch.
In addition, the BB report has given some examples of high expenditure of the board of directors. In one meeting, Tk 85,000 was spent on buying 20 baskets of fruit for three directors. At a meeting of the executive committee, the cost of buying 20 pieces of hilsa, 20 pieces of shrimp, 20 pieces of chital fish, 20 pieces of Rupchanda fish was shown at Tk 58,650. In this way, the inspection team found that an average of Tk 15,000 to 30,000 was spent on each director without honorarium in every meeting of the board, which is unusual.
In 2018, nine directors, including the chairman, formed a company named 'NRBC Management' to appoint contractual officers, office assistants and pool car suppliers, of which the bank's chairman Parvez Tamal was the managing director.
Through this, 3,714 workers have been recruited from the beginning of 2021 to June 2022. They took Tk 11.20 crore from the bank as service charge against these appointments without inviting tenders and verifying experience. Besides, some directors took 10 percent shares of NRBC Bank Securities, a subsidiary of the bank. BB has termed these two incidents as contrary to rules and conflict of interest.
A source at the bank said that due to no accountability, the company has been appointed arbitrarily in exchange for money. In the central bank's directives of 2014 and June 2022, there was a directive to collect or buy any products, services and services of the bank from the director or his interested organization, but it was not followed. After the central bank's letter, they recently transferred the company's shares to others. However, the beneficiaries of these shares are some directors including the current chairman. The bank has also given loans in the name of NRBC Management at different times. Most of that loan money has been transferred to an account of a company called Lanta Service.
It was known that NRBC Management and Starlinks Holdings are located at NIB Tower in Banani. The building is owned by the bank's Vice Chairman Adnan Imam's AWR Development. All the shares of Parvez Tamal have been transferred to Shafiqul Alam, owner of Starlinks Holdings, his business associate, and he has been appointed chairman of NRBC Management. Shafiqul Alam has a loan of around Tk 300 crore in the Hatirpool branch of NRBC Bank. Against this huge loan, 9.30 percent of the land located in Alekanda Mouza of Barishal is as collateral.
On the other hand, one of the conditions of the approval of three NRB banks in 2013 to encourage expatriate entrepreneurs was that entrepreneur capital should be provided with the money paid abroad by tax. Shahidul Ahsan, the then chairman of Mercantile Bank, bought shares in the name of ABM Abdul Mannan and Kamrun Nahar Sakhi. In an inspection of the central bank in 2016, the shares without name were identified and ordered to confiscate them. But it was hung for so long in various ways without confiscation.
In October last year, out of 4 crore 70 lakh 1 thousand 886 shares (5.67 percent of the paid-up capital) in the name of Abdul Mannan, 4 crore 49 lakh 99 thousand 511 shares were transferred in the name of the bank's chairman Parvez Tamal and executive committee chairman Adnan Imam. And Kamrun Nahar Sakhi's shares are being given for loan adjustment of Mercantile Bank.
There is a restriction on the sale or transfer of shares of NRBC Bank till March this year. Again, bonus shares announced for 2021 and 2022 cannot be sold before 2025 and 2026. However, the BSEC approved the purchase of these shares in the block market in special consideration by disobeying the rules. On October 31, the bank sold 1,65,72,992 shares to Shafiqul Alam, a business partner of Parvez Tamal, and 1,38,45,904 shares to Nadia Momin Imam, wife of Adnan Imam, chairman of the executive committee. On the other hand, 1 crore 45 lakh 80 thousand 615 shares were transferred in favor of Rehnuma Ahsan, daughter of former chairman Shahidul Ahsan.
Parvez Tamal, chairman of NRBC Bank, could not be reached over the phone despite repeated attempts. The bank's managing director Golam Aulia did not receive phone calls several times. BB Executive Director and spokesman Mezbaul Haque denied the allegation that the central bank is not taking action against the irregularities of NRBC Bank.
He said the central bank investigates all allegations, wherever necessary action is taken. The central bank will also look into the allegations against some NRBC Bank officials. Everything has a process. The central bank will take action according to the process. We have already removed nine people from NRB management. And they have also refunded some of the extra money that was incurred in the board meeting. We are taking action.
ZH
