Photo : Collected
Allegations of academic certificate forgery have surfaced against Rafiqul Islam, an applicant for the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) position at Sonali Life Insurance Company Limited, a listed insurance company in Panchagarh.
Rafiqul Islam's academic certificate has been accused of forgery which is a criminal offense under the Insurance Act 2010. He is currently serving as Additional Managing Director and acting CEO of Sonali Life.
The company's Human Resources AGM Md Rafe Uz Zaman has lodged a complaint with the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) against him. Recently he made this request to the chairman of IDRA.
Rafiqul Islam's mobile phone was contacted several times in the evening of July 9 to find out about the matter, but he did not receive the call.
However, Rafi-ur Zaman, in-charge of the company's human resource department, told The Daily Messenger, “I submitted Rafiqul Islam's application to IDRA out of ignorance. The matter came to my notice after the Board Chief informed me of the matter. I am wrong because he is currently serving as the CEO (ongoing duty) of the company.
Regarding the IDRA complaint, Rafe Uz Zaman said, “I have been overseeing the Human Resources department for the past 11 years. Last January, after the company's board of directors approved Rafiqul Islam's appointment as CEO, I compiled and submitted the file to the IDRA office. Regrettably, I was unaware that his degree and master's certificates were falsified.
“The issue came to light recently when Brig Gen SM Ferdous, the administrator, scrutinised Rafiqul Islam's file. The certificates showed identical registration numbers, sessions, and graduation years -- specifically, 2000 -- for both the degree and master's programmes."
He added, “In such a situation, I request action against him as per the prevailing laws of the country. The administrator of the company has directed the local police station to file a case of certificate fraud against him.”
Meanwhile, on July 7, the administrator of Sonali Life, SM Ferdous, ordered the dismissal of Additional Managing Director Md Rafiqul Islam and five senior officials.
At the same time, he ordered to return the money taken illegally within seven days and to hand over all the company's documents, vehicles, electronic items and other equipment to the HR department of the company.
The rest of the dismissed officers are - Deputy Managing Director Muhammad Abdullahil Kafi, Deputy Managing Director Golam Mostafa, Assistant Managing Director Syed Md Azim and Assistant Managing Director Manzoor Morshed.
Tk 30 lakh was allegedly received under the guise of incentives by these five dismissed officials.
They are accused of threatening other employees who did not cooperate with the administrator, systematically making baseless and fabricated allegations against the administrator and IDRA chairman in breach of regulations, and systematically presenting false information among the company's development staff.
Additionally, the administrator has been accused of initiating a no-confidence motion, misrepresenting commission funds as salaries, and disseminating misinformation through the media.
Messenger/Fameema
