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I'm innocent

Ex-Sonali Bank MD tells media after anti-graft body grilling; 2 top bankers made OSDs

Staff Correspondent
The Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday interrogated Sonali Bank's former managing director Humayun Kabir as part of its ongoing probe into the Hall-Mark loan scandal.
A six-member team led by ACC Deputy Director Mir Md Zainul Abedin Shebly quizzed Humayun from around 9:30am to 4:30pm.
Meanwhile, two deputy managing directors of Sonali Bank --Atiqur Rahman and Mainul Haque - - have been made officers on
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special duty (OSD) in light of the scandal.
To this effect, the finance ministry issued an order yesterday, warning that departmental action would be taken against the two.
The Bangladesh Bank last week asked Sonali Bank to suspend 31 officials, including the two DMDs, in connection with the grant of the loan.
Earlier, a probe by the central bank found that the bank's Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch had lent Tk 3,547 crore to Hall-Mark and five other companies between 2010 and May this year on forged documents.
ACC officials said they wanted to know from the exboss of Sonali Bank what benefit he had got from Hall-Mark and other companies for releasing the loan.
It could not be known what Humayun told the ACC officials.
While he was leaving the ACC office after the interrogation, journalists tried to elicit his comments on the issue.
But he almost ran away, saying, "I am innocent. I am no t at fault. I am not guilty."
The Bangladesh Bank had recently requested the commission to dig into the matter after it found proof of massive irregularities in the lending.
The ACC has so far quizzed 20 former and present Sonali Bank officers.
Yesterday, Banking Secretary Shafiqur Rahman Patwari told The Daily Star that Atiqur and Mainul would be issued show-cause notices, and action would be taken if their replies were not satisfactory.
As the duo had been made OSDs, they would be withdrawn from Sonali Bank and attached to the finance ministry, he added.
In another development, the board of the state-run commercial bank at ameeting yesterday decided to make two general managers OSDs, officialssaid.Thenamesofthe duo - Nony Gopal Nath and Mir Mahidur Rahman - also came up in the scandal.