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Bangladesh Bank guidelines require CSR programmes to focus on sustainable, long-term projects and prioritise sectors including education (30 percent), health (30 percent), environment and climate adaptation (20 percent), income-generating activities for underprivileged groups, disaster management, infrastructure, sports and culture. The guidelines also allow banks and financial institutions to provide grants to government entities or institutions, including the Prime Minister’s Office, if considered eligible.

The audit showed that Tk 1,111 crore went to the Prime Minister’s Relief and Welfare Fund in the name of relief, flood response and education assistance.

Another Tk 374 crore was donated to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Memorial Trust, nearly half of it for programmes marking Bangabandhu’s birth centenary.

Shuchona Foundation received around Tk 26 crore.

The remaining funds were distributed among bodies including the Bangladesh Olympic Association, Bangladesh Football Federation, Sheikh Russel Jatio Shishu Kishore Parishad, named after Hasina’s slain younger brother, and individuals whose family members were killed during the 2009 BDR mutiny.

Hasina served as chairperson of the Bangabandhu memorial trust, while her daughter Saima Wazed founded and chaired Shuchona Foundation.

In March 2025, the Anti-Corruption Commission sued Saima, alleging abuse of power, fraud and forgery in securing the position of regional director at the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia Regional Office.

She also faces allegations of coercing member banks of BAB into depositing Tk 33.05 crore into Shuchona Foundation accounts.

The Awami League government had declared March 17, 2020 to March 16, 2021 as Mujib Borsho (Mujib Year) to commemorate Bangabandhu’s birth centenary.

As part of the year-long observance, Mujib Corners were established in many offices and numerous programmes were sponsored by banks.

According to the audit, Tk 173 crore was raised solely for Mujib Borsho celebrations, including Tk 75 crore spent on sports events and sponsorship of a film on Sheikh Mujib’s life.

The forensic audit was conducted by chartered accountancy firm A Qasem & Co, commissioned by the new BAB board formed after Nazrul’s tenure ended following Hasina’s fall in August 2024 after the July uprising.

The audit aimed to identify discrepancies, possible fraud and misappropriation based on available records and responses from BAB and member banks.

The report relied on information provided by BAB and participating banks. Of 41 member banks, only 29 fully responded, while 12 did not submit data.

BAB’s fundraising began on a limited scale in 2014 before expanding significantly.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank, said the banks had initially resisted contributing.

However, some executives later faced pressure, including threats from law enforcement and removal from their institutions.

“The then BAB chairman had personally followed up collections. If anyone failed to contribute, complaints would be made to higher government authorities,” he said.

As a result, executives and board members often felt unable to reject requests. Some banks exceeded their CSR limits because of the pressure, he added.

“If we had not provided funds to prescribed sectors, we could have spent more on education and health. Now our bank runs a school because such requests have become optional,” Mahbubur said.

He added that while banks still receive recommendation letters from BAB, contributions are no longer “mandatory”.

Anis A Khan, former chairman of the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB), said, “I have witnessed all of these with my own eyes, but we had no option but to comply.”

He said banks had occasionally questioned repeated requests but encountered difficulties. “Paying such large amounts to a single fund reduces resources available for other CSR spending. In many cases, banks did not have sufficient profits to contribute.”

Anis also said banks had no control over how donated funds were ultimately used.

Prof Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), said CSR funds had at times been used politically and diverted from serving broader social goals.

He said the alternative use of such funds could have benefited marginalised people through education and healthcare, while limited transparency and accountability created opportunities for misuse.

He recommended revisiting CSR rules and regulations to ensure better use and oversight.

OTHER FINDINGS

The auditors identified Tk 533 crore in questionable payments and expenditures over the decade, categorising them as ineligible due to being unrelated to business activities or unsupported because of missing documentation.

“These spending represent potential financial mismanagement,” the report said.

Of this, around Tk 470 crore involved donations reported by member banks that could not be verified through available records.

The audit also identified Tk 24.8 crore in donations lacking supporting documents such as recipient acknowledgements or banking details.

Other findings included understatement of closing bank balances by Tk 14 lakh, cash donations worth Tk 99 lakh, and procurements worth Tk 76 lakh from non-existent suppliers or without competitive bidding.

The auditors further identified undocumented overtime payments, personal credit card use for business transactions, payments routed through employee accounts, multi-vendor payments through single cheques, irregular training and meeting expenses, unauthorised honorarium increases and potentially fabricated invoices.

They also found Tk 6.35 crore had been reallocated from originally stated purposes without approval.

In one instance, funds raised on the claim of supporting Palestinians were instead provided to a specialised school for autistic children.

In another case, Tk 1 crore was transferred through an account-payee cheque to a senior law enforcement official although the fundraising had cited support for the cultural affairs ministry.

Nazrul chaired BAB throughout the period under review. The founder of Nassa Group was arrested on October 2, 2024, from Dhaka’s Gulshan area and later sent to jail in a case over the death of a protester in Jatrabari on August 5 during the 2024 uprising.

He also faces allegations of amassing Tk 781.31 crore in unexplained wealth and conducting trade-based money laundering worth Tk 16,000 crore.

Following the fall of the Awami League government, Bangladesh Bank restructured EXIM Bank’s board, ending Nazrul’s long influence there.

As Nazrul remains in jail, The Daily Star could not reach him for comment. Hasina fled to India after the uprising, while Saima currently lives abroad.

Abdul Hai Sarker, current BAB chairman, told The Daily Star, “Whatever happened in the past, we are not continuing it.”

“If the government wants to take action against those involved in the past, it can do so. We are running BAB with full transparency and accountability,” he added.