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parliamentary proceedings based on documentary evidence.

Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad declined to entertain the point of order, saying such interventions must concern immediate or ongoing matters.

“This issue has already passed yesterday. It is no longer valid today. However, if you feel it is necessary, you may submit a formal notice,” the speaker said before returning to the day’s agenda.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, the home minister cited some numbers on the RDS and the bank’s lending to Nabil Group.

However, The Daily Star’s review of available records found that his figures contradict Islami Bank’s annual reports.

Salahuddin alleged that Tk 22,000 crore had been distributed through the RDS -- Tk 11,000 crore before and another Tk 11,000 crore after the August 5 political changeover -- “to help a certain group cross the election river”.

But according to Islami Bank’s 2025 annual report, investment through the RDS rose only 1.1 percent year-on-year to Tk 6,789 crore at the end of the year. The scheme’s financing stood at Tk 6,712 crore in 2024, Tk 6,473 crore in 2023, and Tk 5,588 crore in 2022.

Introduced in 1995, the RDS is Islami Bank’s collateral-free microfinance programme aimed at meeting the investment needs of poor and marginal farmers, particularly in agriculture and off-farm activities. The programme seeks to generate employment and raise rural incomes to reduce poverty. It currently serves around 17.75 lakh members across 35,352 villages, with women making up the majority of beneficiaries.

The home minister also alleged that after the fall of the Awami League government, Nabil Group received Tk 700 crore in loans against letters of credit from Islami Bank but did not repay after selling imported goods. According to Salahuddin, the group’s total liability stood at Tk 16,000 crore.

However, Islami Bank’s annual report said Nabil Group’s approved loan limit was Tk 2,900 crore, while outstanding loans stood at Tk 2,598 crore at the end of 2025 -- down 11.9 percent year-on-year.

Individuals affiliated with Jamaat and various Islamic organisations played a key role in establishing Islami Bank in 1983.

The bank later came under the control of S Alam Group in 2017 during the AL regime. The conglomerate subsequently channelled around 80 percent of the bank’s loans to its own companies and affiliated firms, according to allegations widely documented in the banking sector.

Following the fall of the AL government in August 2024, Islami Bank was freed from the group’s control and is now run by a board of independent directors appointed under Bangladesh Bank oversight.

The latest controversy arose after Md Khurshid Alam’s appointment as chairman was announced on May 24. On June 1 -- the first working day after the Eid holidays -- hundreds gathered in Motijheel, demanding that Bangladesh Bank cancel the appointment and reinstate former managing director Omar Faruk Khan.

The protests have since triggered a sharp outflow of deposits, placing the country’s largest Shariah-based lender under growing pressure. Islami Bank lost Tk 4,240 crore in deposits within seven days of demonstrations.

Islami Bank currently holds the largest volume of non-performing loans in the banking sector -- Tk 95,629 crore, equivalent to 50.88 percent of its total loans.