#Thousands of crores of taka released in the name of grocers and betel leaf salers

#Banking experts want strong position of Bangladesh Bank

The directors of various banks are ruining the 60 banks of the country by taking anonymous loans by showing the names of unknown persons in mutual collusion through forgery and irregularities. The banking sector is being destroyed by their terrible ill activities. The country’s money is being laundered abroad. Questions have arisen among people about the role and evil activities of bank directors.

In recent times, many irregularities have been seen in the banking sector. Hailing from Chattogram  many house owners and grocers have received loans. There has been a demand to investigate how they got loans of thousands of crores of taka. Economists find this loan in the name of betel leaf sellers and grocery shopkeepers mysterious and say that Bangladesh Bank should quickly audit and find out the real facts. Besides, they said for taking a strict and strong role like the Bank of England to prevent these irregularities and corruption.

If Bangladesh Bank, the regulatory body of the banking sector, does not immediately stop the fraudulent loans of the bank directors, order will not be established in the banking sector. Economists think that the role of Bangladesh Bank should be strict so that all banks fear them. According to the inspection report of Bangladesh Bank, more than 25 thousand crores of fraud has been frauded in the banking sector in the last few years. Three groups together looted 11 thousand 230 crores taka from a state-owned bank.

About one and a half thousand crore taka have been lost from two new generation banks. Apart from this, a shopkeeper took Tk 200 crores from a government bank, a Chattogram based businessman and his wife took Tk 300 crores from various banks, a street fish seller Tk 300 crores, a trading businessman Tk 500 crores. These banks are at risk due to hundreds of frauds. Recently, 30 borrowers from 25 institutions of Chattogram fled abroad with bank loans of Tk 11 thousand 300 crores.

Some of them showed business of five-star hotels, accommodation, super shops and petrol pumps, but later it was found that some of them were fish sellers, some were betel leaf sellers. Some are involved in real estate business abroad. No trace of these money taken from multiple banks can be made. Even if the bank’s debt collection becomes uncertain, the escaped debtors are at ease.

Recently, it was seen that huge amount of money was withdrawn from many banks using multiple addresses of Banani. Farmgate, Gulshan and Rajshahi addresses were used as well. Many of these people live in Chattogram. Without any business credibility, they have emptied the banks by borrowing thousands of crores of taka on fake documents. All these have become possible because the director of one bank gave concession to the director of another bank.

This gang is using fake name, fake address, fake signboard, fake documents, fake security in different banks. Many bank directors have also taken loans in the names of their employees, peons, drivers. This is due to lack of proper accountability. Several analysts of the banking sector said that many important banks are worried about the loans of such an unknown and mysterious person who lives in Chattogram. Bangladesh Bank should conduct a quick audit on how they are doing this.

The central bank should take strict action against those who looted banks. It should create an example and punish them. Bangladesh’s economy will be crippled if those who broke the country’s banking system are not severely punished. No development will last if we do not stop the anarchy with our banking sector.

According to a report of Bangladesh Bank, apart from arranging the fake documents, bank directors are sharing looted money. They do not pay back the loan after an agreement between the directors of two private banks. They created anonymous loans using various techniques. The severity of the fraud is so massive that hundreds of crores of taka are taken showing fake adocuments. Even the voter ID card of the person in whose name the loan is given is completely fake. Although the cases of money loss in the name of loans with fake documents are known, these fraudsters are not facing punishment.

The well-known businessmen of the country don’t get loans visiting the doors of banks for months after applying for loans. But they got the loan within a few days of applying with fake papers and addresses and then disappear. Recently, it has been reported that last year, this evil circle has withdrawn Tk 9.5 thousand crores from three private banks of the country. About 7 thousand 250 crores have been withdrawn from the top one bank in various ways, while some Tk 2 thousand 300 crores have been withdrawn from the remaining two banks.

Out of this, Bangladesh Bank has visited those three banks raising questions about the loans of about 3 thousand crore taka. According to the central bank report, a large amount of loans disbursed in the name of companies involved in the import business has been laundered abroad. In the documents submitted to the bank, an office address is given in Banani area of the capital, but there is a residential building there. Another address uses the name of one office, but there is another company’s office there. One of the companies in whose name the money has been withdrawn has its address in Chattogram, the rest in Rajshahi. When there was a cash crisis after the dollar crisis in the banking sector, these funds were withdrawn at the same time. Some 1 thousand and 11 crores was withdrawn from Gulshan branch of a bank. The address provided by the institution in the bank documents was found to be a residential institution. In the last few years, more than 100 borrowers have taken loans of around Tk 5 thousand crore from the state-owned banks alone. After the deadline for repayment of the loan has passed, the bank authorities say that the concerned borrowers cannot be traced.

Gang of Directors:

Directors of one bank are not repaying loans from other banks. Besides, special gangs are systematically taking huge loans by submitting fake documents as mortgages to banks. These gangs are using fake addresses of their businesses or factories. After the visit of the central bank, when the issues came up, it was discussed only for a few days.

According to Bangladesh Bank sources, directors of other private commercial banks have more than Tk 4,000 crore in directors’ loans, of which the directors of the top five banks have taken about Tk 22,500 crore. The directors of these banks could not take loans from their own banks and took them from other banks. A large part of which is now in default. Some directors have taken anonymous loans, which amount to more.

According to the related sources of Bangladesh Bank, among the bank directors, the maximum loan was taken by 300 people, who have taken loans from other banks as directors of one bank. Each of these 300 directors have invested Tk 20 crores which amount Tk 6000 crores together to become the directors of the bank. But they took out about 2 lakh crores from the bank in the name of loan. Allegedly, most of this money is not paid year after year. Sometimes the loan is rescheduled and renewed repeatedly without any down payment.