Over the past decade and a half, one of the key figures behind the looting of state-owned banks has been Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu. He led the looting of Basic Bank during the three years following 2009. Despite severe criticism surrounding this scandal, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina remained indifferent. Even though there was dissatisfaction within the then-government, Abdul Hye Bachchu remained untouchable. At that time, his strength was associated with ‘Choto Apa’ or Sheikh Rehana. Sheikh Rehana, the younger sister of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (who was ousted in a mass uprising), is known as ‘Choto Apa’ among Awami League leaders and activists.

Not only Basic Bank, but the name of Sheikh Rehana also came up repeatedly in discussions about irregularities in other state-owned banks. However, for over a decade, no one within the Awami League had the courage to bring these matters into the open. Sheikh Rehana was the key decision-maker in the appointments of chairmen, directors, and managing directors in other state-owned commercial banks such as Sonali, Janata, Agrani, and Rupali. It was on her recommendation that Sheikh Hasina appointed people to key policy-making positions in these banks. In some cases, to secure promotions to positions like Deputy Managing Director (DMD) or General Manager (GM), the blessing of Sheikh Rehana was required, according to sources.

According to these sources, the irregularities in state-owned banks, such as those in Basic Bank, occurred under the supervision of Salman F Rahman and Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat. Candidates seeking appointments as chairmen or MDs of these banks would lobby with these two individuals. In some cases, just one of their recommendations was enough to secure a position. In other cases, both of them had to give their collective approval. The final list of candidates would be sent to Sheikh Rehana, and after her recommendation, Sheikh Hasina would appoint the chairmen and MDs of the state-owned banks.

To inquire about this, over a dozen individuals who have held positions such as Chairman, Director, MD, and DMD of state-owned banks over the past one and a half decades were contacted. Almost all of them requested that their names remain confidential.

According to their statements, before the appointment of a chairman or MD at state-owned banks, large sums of money had to be paid as bribes, often through Salman F Rahman or Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat. In many cases, large corporate groups or major borrowers would pay the bribes on behalf of the candidates. The condition was that after becoming the chairman or MD, the appointed individual would allow these groups to withdraw large sums of money from the bank in the form of loans. There were also two or three influential directors on the board, often political leaders or professionals associated with the Awami League, whose job was to control the board. If they approved a proposal for a large loan, they would receive a share of the bribe money. Directors appointed without lobbying had duties restricted to merely ensuring quorum at board meetings, and they had no chance to take a firm stand on any issue. This is how more than a hundred billion taka was siphoned off in the form of loans from state-owned banks.

According to data from Bangladesh Bank, in September of the previous year, the amount of non-performing loans (NPLs) in state-owned banks like Sonali, Janata, Agrani, Rupali, and Basic Bank amounted to nearly BDT 1.25 trillion. Nearly 40 percent of the loans distributed by these banks were non-performing. However, the situation worsened after September. By the end of December, the NPLs of these banks exceeded BDT 1.5 trillion. Besides these non-performing loans, at least BDT 500 billion worth of loans had become overdue. The impact of the non-performing loans has caused a severe capital shortfall in all five of these banks. If adequate provisions had been made, all of these banks would have been in losses.

After the Awami League came to power in January 2009, all state-owned banks appointed Chairmen, Directors, and MDs based on party considerations. The following appointments were made: Quazi Baharul Islam as Chairman of Sonali Bank; Abul Barkat as Chairman of Janata Bank; Khandaker Bazlul Haque as Chairman of Agrani Bank; Ahmed Al-Kabir as Chairman of Rupali Bank; and Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu as Chairman of Basic Bank.

In addition, several party members were appointed as directors of these banks, including Awami League leader Jannat Ara Henry from Sirajganj; Shaimum Sarwar Kamal from Cox’s Bazar; Subhash Singh Roy; Kashem Humayun, the Managing Editor of the Daily Sangbad; former Chhatra League leader Balaram Poddar, Nagibul Islam Dipu, and Shahjada Mohiuddin. Along with these positions, loyal party members were also appointed as MDs of state-owned banks. These politically motivated appointments led to a series of loan scandals at the banks.

From August 2016 to 2019, Md Obayed Ullah Al Masud served as the Managing Director of state-owned Sonali Bank. In 2019, he was transferred from Sonali Bank and appointed as MD of Rupali Bank for a three-year term. As of now, he is serving as the Chairman of the restructured board of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC.

When asked about the appointments during that period, Obayed Ullah Al Masud told Bonik Barta yesterday (Saturday, January 11), “I was told that to get reappointed as the MD of Sonali Bank, I would have to pay a bribe of BDT 1 billion. I was informed that I wouldn’t have to pay a single taka; someone else would pay it on my behalf. But then, I would have to offer unethical favors to that group. I refused this offer, and despite my good performance, I was transferred to Rupali Bank as the MD.”

He added, “I have served as the MD in two banks. I never allowed anyone, including S Alam or Salman F Rahman, to take any unethical benefits from any bank. This is why they were displeased with me.”

Salman F Rahman himself benefited from facilitating the appointment of Chairmen and MDs at state-owned banks on behalf of Sheikh Rehana. His Beximco Group borrowed nearly BDT 350 billion from the four major state-owned banks alone. Of this amount, Beximco’s loan balance at Janata Bank alone has reached BDT 260 billion.

Sheikh Rehana resides in a house in Golders Green, North London. According to documents, the owner of the house is Salman F Rahman’s son, Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman. The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) froze the bank accounts of Shayan Rahman along with others after the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government. He was also removed from the board of directors of the IFIC Bank. And Salman F Rahman is now in prison after being arrested in a murder case.

In addition to Sheikh Rehana, several instances have come to light regarding her son Radwan Mujib Siddiq, daughter Tulip Siddiq, and another daughter Azmina Siddiq receiving houses as gifts from influential figures. Among them, Sheikh Rehana and her younger daughter Azmina had lived for some time in another flat worth 500,000 pounds in Hampstead. This flat was owned by Awami League leader Kazi Zafarullah.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched an investigation on December 17 against Sheikh Hasina, Sheikh Rehana, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, and Sheikh Rehana’s eldest daughter Tulip Siddiq, over allegations of irregularities and corruption amounting to BDT 800 billion in nine projects. Among these is the accusation that Tulip mediated the nuclear power plant construction agreement signed between Bangladesh and Russia in 2013. Following this announcement by the ACC, Tulip has come under investigation both in Bangladesh and the United Kingdom. However, she has denied the allegations, calling them false.

It has also been found that Tulip Siddiq received multiple apartments for free in the United Kingdom. A report by the British media outlet Financial Times on January 3 stated that in 2004, Tulip received an apartment near King’s Cross in London for free. The apartment was given to Tulip by a real estate businessman named Abdul Motalif. He is also known to be close to the Awami League and members of Tulip’s family.

Tulip Siddiq is now serving as the Economic Secretary to the Treasury in the United Kingdom. As a minister, she is responsible for tackling financial crimes and corruption in the country. However, she is now at risk of being dismissed from the cabinet due to corruption allegations.

Md Ataur Rahman Prodhan served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sonali Bank UK Limited for three years after 2012. It was during his tenure when various irregularities, corruption, and operational failures led to the closure of the Bangladesh-owned bank in the UK. Despite the collapse of the only Bangladesh-owned bank abroad, Ataur Rahman Prodhan was rewarded. In 2016, Sheikh Hasina appointed him as the MD of state-owned Rupali Bank. After serving in that position for three years, he was appointed the MD of Sonali Bank in August 2019. Following his retirement, he ran for the Lalmonirhat-1 constituency in the 12th National Parliament elections held on January 7 of 2024. Despite seeking the nomination from the Awami League, he later became a dummy candidate.

An insider close to Ataur Rahman Prodhan informed Bonik Barta that during his time as the CEO of Sonali Bank UK, he developed a close relationship with Sheikh Rehana. Allegations have been made that he helped Sheikh Rehana with money laundering activities during that period. Due to this relationship, he faced penalties from the Bank of England, but upon returning to Bangladesh, Ataur Rahman Pradhan was rewarded with the position of MD at Rupali Bank and later Sonali Bank.

Attempts to contact Ataur Rahman Prodhan for comments on this matter were unsuccessful. Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, he has been on the run. His phone number was also found to be switched off as of yesterday.

Shortly after the Awami League came to power, the ‘Hallmark’ scandal at Sonali Bank caused a nationwide shock. The group had embezzled nearly BDT 40 billion from the state-owned bank. Besides Hallmark, there have been several other large and small loan scandals at the bank. But, available information suggests that Sonali Bank’s financial indicators at present are somewhat better compared to the other three state-owned banks. As of last September, the bank’s non-performing loans amounted to BDT 166.23 billion, which is approximately 16 percent of the loans distributed.

In contrast, documents from Agrani Bank reveal that by September 30 of last year, the bank’s total distributed loans were BDT 756.77 billion, with BDT 268.92 billion, or 35.53 percent, being non-performing. Agrani Bank also wrote off BDT 56.09 billion of bad loans by that time. Additionally, the bank had a capital shortfall of over BDT 46.06 billion. By December, its non-performing loans exceeded BDT 300 billion, accounting for nearly 40 percent of its distributed loans. Meanwhile, its provision and capital shortfall figures worsened, and the bank is now borrowing money from the market to meet daily transactions, a significant shift from the past when other banks used to borrow massive sums from it.

Once considered the best among the state-owned banks in the country, Janata Bank has been brought down due to extensive plundering over the past one and a half decades. As of September last year, the non-performing loans of Janata Bank amounted to BDT 604.89 billion, which accounts for nearly 61 percent of the bank’s total distributed loans. The situation is even worse than reported by the central bank. According to the information presented to the bank’s board, Janata Bank’s non-performing loans have now reached nearly BDT 740 billion, with more than 75 percent of its distributed loans now non-performing. The situation has deteriorated to the point where the bank could fall into CRR-SLR deficits at any moment.

According to Janata Bank’s own records, its total distributed loans stand at BDT 985.23 billion, with more than half of this amount or BDT 499.59 billion, being concentrated in the hands of just five business groups or families. Among them, the Beximco Group, owned by Salman F Rahman, has taken BDT 250.80 billion. Other recipients include S Alam Group with BDT 101.71 billion, AnonTex Group with BDT 77.74 billion, Crescent Group with BDT 38.07 billion, and Orion Group with BDT 30.11 billion.

Like other state-owned banks, Rupali Bank’s financial situation is also dire. As of September last year, the bank’s non-performing loans amounted to BDT 127.38 billion, which is 25.41 percent of the bank’s total distributed loans. By that time, Rupali Bank was also facing a capital deficit of BDT 29.32 billion. Since September, the bank’s financial condition has worsened further. According to sources, nearly 30 percent of Rupali Bank’s loans are now classified as non-performing.

Basic Bank, which has been looted since 2009, is still struggling in a state of crisis. In the past 11 years, the state-owned bank has incurred a net loss of nearly BDT 50 billion. During this period, the government injected BDT 33.90 billion in capital from the budget to save the bank. Despite receiving this huge amount, Basic Bank has failed to recover. On the contrary, the bank still faces a capital deficit of over BDT 30 billion. Currently, nearly 65 percent of the bank’s distributed loans are non-performing, amounting to about BDT 85 billion.

According to a responsible official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, about 15 to 20 percent of the funds withdrawn in the name of loans from these state-owned banks have been distributed as bribes. The official informed Bonik Barta, “A portion of anonymous loans directly benefited the Sheikh family. Additionally, 15–20 percent of the loans taken by businesspeople close to the Awami League were paid as bribes at various levels.”

However, former Managing Director of Agrani Bank, Md Shams-ul-Islam, has claimed, “During my tenure, I never yielded to any wrongdoing. I never had to pay bribes to become MD. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has investigated my case multiple times, but they found no evidence to support any allegations. I am still in the country, and I have no assets abroad. When I was promoted from GM to DMD, I was once removed from the position by the then Prime Minister’s office, branding me as a supporter of BNP. My father-in-law was a two-time Member of Parliament from BNP.”

Shams-ul-Islam served as the MD of Agrani Bank for seven consecutive years starting from August 2016. During his tenure, there were widespread allegations that he facilitated loans for influential clients in exchange for bribes. He became a trusted ally of Sheikh Rehana through the mediation of former Padma Bank Chairman and financial sector oligarch, Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat. While serving as MD of Agrani Bank, he was the first to establish the ‘Mujib Corner’ in the bank. Later, he played a key role in setting up similar corners across various institutions in the country by informing Sheikh Hasina.