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Lawyer alerted BB of NCL irregularities

Star Special
Directors of the National Credit Limited (NCL), who have been allegedly guilty of taking loans from lhe company. should have Iccn asked by the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to vacate their positions Immediately' for violating the pro visions of the Companies Act. 1913 as well as the organisation's own Articles of Association, according to a noted lawyer who had discussed the matter with the central bank tn August. 1990.
As in the case of the Bangladesh Commerce and Investment Ltd (BCI). the lawyer had offered his views al the request of a high official of BB The official it Is said, bad provided sufficient information
or. the then acttvltiea of NCL to enable the lawyer to form an opinion on the controversial organtsatio.i.
„ Tpc NCI* a finance com* . pany. now reportedly hft by a severe liquidity crisis, has applied for permission to be restructured as a full-fledged scheduled bank. In this respect. its efforts are getting the support of a certain quar ter in the administration.
After discussing the BCI situation in a note to BB in May. 1990. on which The Daily Star published a report yesterday, the lawyer alerted the central bank that NCL had also committed serious offences which could not be treated lightly by I the concerned authorities.
While conceding that the "irregularities committed by this company" seemed to be less serious than those of BCI, the lawyer argued firmly that “the company and the Directors have definitely violated the provisions of the Companies Act. 1913 as well as their own Articles of Association."
Elaborating on this point, the lawyer, one of the best In this country, took the Une that Section 86 D of the Companies Act. 1913 prohibits any loan or guarantee In favour of any director of the company. This rule clearly applied to NCL since "it Is neither a private company nor a banking com-pany."
As on the BCI situation, the lawyer spoke to The Daily Star on condition that he would not be identified. In his note to BB, dated August 6. 1990, he referred to some remedial measures taken by the central bank in removing the irregu lari ties committed by NCL.
However, Judging by the note from the lawyer, it was far from clear how and when BB had responded to the advice
-•that NCL directors should va-
cate their positions immediately for taking loans from their company.
Trade circles here believe that none of the directors vacated their positions and that some of them continued to take loans from the finance company In outright violation of the Companies Act or disregarding the warning, if any. from the centra] bank.
As one source puts it. "What is necessary, almost imperative. is to set up an enquiry covering all aspects of the company's operation before even considering the proposal for upgrading It to the status of a scheduled bank."
Experts here believe that the way the authorities concerned. the Ministry of Finance and the Bangladesh Bank, handle the situation which one source describes as a tip of an Iceberg, will have a direct bearing not only on financial Institutions but also on the pace of privatisation in the country.
What causes a lot of concern to the private sector here is that neither the Ministry of Finance nor the central bank is looking at the situation with maximum sense of urgency —