MD MEHEDI HASAN

Islami Bank Bangladesh yesterday rejected a cheque of a little-known company seeking to withdraw Tk 548 crore.

An official of the Shariah-based bank, requesting anonymity, said their Khatunganj corporate branch in Chattogram received the cheque issued by Top Ten Trading Company.

The contact number which the company kept with the bank was found switched off yesterday.

The attempt to withdraw such a large amount amidst the countrywide turmoil raised suspicions, he said, adding, “We have rejected the bid to withdraw the money kept with us as deposits against loans.”

The official also alleged that Md Akiz Uddin, deputy managing director (DMD) of Islami Bank, and his associates were behind the fund withdrawal attempt.

Md Akiz Uddin did not receive calls from this newspaper yesterday. He has not come to work since Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of prime minister and fled the country on Monday in the face of spiralling protests.

Another DMD, Miftah Uddin, has also been absent.

Md Akiz Uddin was the personal secretary of Mohammed Saiful Alam, chairman of Chattogram-based S Alam Group, which holds a majority stake in the bank.

The group has been in the public discourse in recent times for its alleged excessive borrowing from the banking system in violation of rules.

On Tuesday, Islami Bank’s Agrabad corporate branch in Chattogram rejected another cheque of a company with alleged links with S Alam Group seeking to withdraw Tk 325 crore.

The Daily Star tried to reach Islami Bank’s Managing Director Mohammed Monirul Moula over the phone for comment but he did not receive calls.

A group of officials and staff of the bank staged demonstrations on Tuesday alleging that they were deprived of official benefits and promotions over the last seven years.

They demanded investigations into the activities of top officials of S Alam Group and into their appointment of officials at the bank.

The demonstrators said the officials appointed since 2017, when the group bought the stakes, have to be sacked while those whose jobs were illegally terminated have to be reinstated.

A source of Islami Bank told The Daily Star that Muhammad Qaisar Ali, additional managing director of the bank, was forced to resign yesterday.

Afterwards, he left with the help of army officials, as per the source.