Photo: Collected
Pubali Bank, one of the prominent private commercial banks in the country, has been embroiled in a series of irregularities and alleged corruption scandals. Multiple allegations have surfaced, including incidents of misappropriation of customer funds at various branches, substantial fraud in foreign currency exchange transactions, and other malpractices. Consequently, this private banking institution is facing a loss of customer trust, which is a concerning development for its reputation and operations.
It is learned that the bank's foreign exchange division in Motijheel, ignoring Bangladesh Bank's rules, bought and sold Tk 148 crore worth of dollars at rates higher than the fixed rate through 7 bank accounts. This incident happened within just one month. Not only that, the bank misappropriated Tk 5 crore from the government exchequer through dollar buying and selling. This picture emerged in The Daily Messenger's investigation.
The concerned individuals say this is a major offense. It is clear that there is no good governance in the bank, and there is a lack of transparency and accountability. As a result, ordinary customers are losing trust in the bank. Bangladesh Bank should take exemplary punitive measures against those involved in the irregularities. But the central bank is not taking any action for some unknown reason.
The investigation found that in November last year, the dollar rate for import payment was Tk 110.50. But ignoring the rules, Pubali Bank charged importers more than Tk 120 per dollar, varying from case to case. Keeping the declared rate as the base, the remaining amount was kept in several newly opened accounts. At the end of each month, those accounts were deleted, and the money was moved.
An even more horrific fact is that the customers in whose names the accounts were opened were unaware of these accounts. Without their permission, the bank opened these accounts for the purpose of manipulation. The investigation identified 7 such accounts (2905901050641, 2905901050820, 2905901050973, 2905901050767, 2905901050745, 2905901050776, 2905901050750), through which nearly Tk 148 crore was transacted.
Among the 7 accounts, the bank’s managing director (current charge) approved the opening of 4 accounts on June 26, 2023. However, he did not approve the opening of the other 3 accounts. The bank authorities did not provide any information on whose approval these 3 accounts were opened.
Sources say that the bank purchased foreign currency at higher rates from various exchange houses at different times. From August 1 to November 30 last year, Tk 211.31 crore was paid in excess to various exchange houses for purchasing foreign currency, which is a clear violation of Bangladesh Bank's rules.
It appears that in addition to the 7 accounts at the Motijheel Foreign Exchange branch, the bank's other branches also transferred excess amounts charged to importers for bill values beyond the declared rate to different accounts, including customer accounts. The Bangladesh Bank's investigation team has even found some evidence of this.
Multiple bank officials said that nearly 180 accounts were deleted until November. However, it was not possible to verify the accuracy of this information because new accounts were opened at the beginning of each month and deleted at the end.
Bangladesh Bank has investigated this incident. A 5-member investigation committee inspected the bank's Motijheel branch from November 19 to 26 and found evidence that the bank purchased foreign currency multiple times from various exchange houses at rates higher than the fixed rate. As a result, an additional Tk 211 crore was paid through the AD branch.
At the time, the central bank's report stated that despite Pubali Bank determining foreign currency rates through its centralized Trade Processing Unit at the head office, it charged additional amounts to customers for import bills. As a result, the bank collected an additional Tk 148 crore from importers. Consequently, by buying remittances at higher prices, Pubali Bank misappropriated Tk 5.28 crore from the government exchequer.
The report states that the excess amounts collected from importers were transferred to multiple accounts at the Motijheel foreign exchange branch, where the bank opened seven accounts in the name of foreign exchange companies without permission.
A copy of this report was also sent to the Ministry of Finance. It states that the exchange rate for foreign currency was imposed at the rate determined by the Centralized Trade Processing Unit (CTPU) of Pubali Bank's head office. However, from the account statements of the respective customers, it appears that some amounts were transferred from the customers' accounts to multiple accounts of the bank's Motijheel Foreign Exchange branch. The Motijheel Foreign Exchange branch of the bank opened current accounts in the name of various exchange houses without taking their applications.
It further states that excess amounts beyond the declared rate for bill values were collected from importers through these accounts, and subsequently credited to the accounts of the exchange houses. In other words, from September 13 to November 30, an additional Tk 148 crore was taken from importers beyond the declared rate for bill values.
From the information provided by the bank, it appears that in most cases, the bank charged customers Tk 120 or more per US dollar on various dates for settling import loan values, although the declared rate for the US dollar on those dates was Tk 110.50.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank's investigation team found several transactions, including an excess amount of Tk 56,850 collected against an LC by the bank's Hospital Road branch in Barishal. The government's incentive rate for remittances is set at 2.5 per cent. Instead of the declared rate of Tk 109 to Tk 110.50 per US dollar, Pubali Bank bought dollars from various exchange houses at rates ranging from Tk 113 to Tk 123.60.
In addition, a 2.5 per cent incentive was provided on top of the purchased rates, which is a violation of the government's policy. On the other hand, against the excess amount of Tk 211,31,24,265.87 paid in favour of the exchange houses, the state incurred a loss of nearly Tk 5.28 crore in the incentive account at the rate of 2.5 per cent.
Regarding this issue, Mohammed Ali, Managing Director and CEO of Pubali Bank, said that all dollar buying and selling was done following the rules. When asked about Bangladesh Bank's investigation report, he declined to comment.
Md. Mezbaul Haque, Executive Director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, told The Daily Messenger, “Bangladesh Bank has formed an investigation committee regarding this incident. Measures have been taken in light of the recommendations of the investigation committee.”
Meanwhile, Srikanta Nandi, the manager of Pubali Bank's Notun Bazar branch in Chandpur city, has been 'missing' along with his family since April 4, after misappropriating crores of taka from customers. After his disappearance, the bank could not account for a pay order worth nearly Tk 2 crore, and two customers accused him of misappropriating around Tk 4.5 crore. The bank has closed down 8 officers, including the current manager of that branch, Md. Humayun Kabir, and attached them to the regional office.
Earlier, on October 12, 2023, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against five people, including a principal officer of Pubali Bank, for allegedly misappropriating Tk 6 lakh from a customer. The accused in the case are Biswajit Kumar Pal, junior cash officer of Pubali Bank's Paduar Bazar branch in Cumilla, former principal officer Md. Jahid Hossain Chowdhury, the bank's sweeper Tapas Kumar Das (dismissed), former senior armed guard Md. Ershadul Haque, and Md. Mahiuddin.
In addition, in 2019, police arrested three officials in a case filed for allegedly misappropriating Tk 12 crore 85 lakh from the Chawkbazar branch of Pubali Bank Limited in Chattogram.
Messenger/Disha
