Bonikbarta Exclusive

An urgent meeting took place about three months ago in Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder’s office to discuss digital banking licenses. During the meeting, the phone of an important Executive Director (ED) rang. The Governor inquired who was calling, to which the Executive Director responded, “Sajeeb Wazed Joy.” Hearing this, the other officials exchanged glances, and the Executive Director left the meeting to take the call.

These interventions were familiar to the high-ranking officials at Bangladesh Bank. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, used to intervene in many policy decisions of the central bank, such as approving large commercial bank loans, granting new bank licenses, rescheduling default loans of controversial industrial groups, and procurement matters. At times, he would directly call the governor, while other times, the deputy governors or executive directors would receive calls from Joy. In addition to calling himself, Joy would occasionally intervene through Salman F Rahman, the former Prime Minister’s adviser on private investment. This was revealed by talking to the former governor, deputy governor and executive directors of Bangladesh Bank. However, none of them agreed to disclose their identity citing their own safety.

Reports suggest Sajeeb Wazed Joy’s instructions were often conveyed via mobile apps like WhatsApp or Skype, leaving no written records. However, some sources claim that former Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman would proactively send monthly reports to Joy detailing his activities, with aspirations of becoming Finance Minister after completing his term as Governor. According to insiders, Joy was instrumental in Atiur Rahman’s appointment as Governor.

Over the last 15 years, Bangladesh Bank has spent billions of BDT on the technology sector, some funded by the World Bank, but most sourced internally. Several officials stated that Joy had a hand in many procurement decisions, from specifying vendors to influencing other policy matters. Joy would either call directly or have government ministers intervene on his behalf.

After the Awami League took power in 2009, Dr. Atiur Rahman, a professor from the University of Dhaka, was appointed Governor on May 1 of that year. After completing his first term, Sheikh Hasina’s government reappointed him in 2012 for a second term. However, in the wake of heavy criticism following the Bangladesh Bank reserve theft, Rahman resigned on March 15, 2016.

Multiple sources closely associated with Atiur Rahman revealed that although he did not inform the Finance Ministry about the reserve theft, he had informed Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Following Joy’s advice, the consultancy firm of Indian national Rakesh Asthana was hired to recover the stolen funds, but no substantial progress was made, except for the destruction of evidence.

During Atiur Rahman’s tenure, in 2013, Bangladesh Bank issued licenses to nine private banks, including Farmers Bank (later renamed Padma Bank), Meghna, Midland, Modhumoti, NRB, NRB Commercial, NRB Global (later renamed Global Islami Bank), South Bangla Agriculture & Commerce Bank, and Union Bank.

Former Executive Directors and General Managers involved in the process told Bonik Barta that there was significant political pressure from Sheikh Hasina, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, and others to approve the banks. However, the greatest pressure reportedly came from Sajeeb Wazed Joy. Although many lower-ranking officials were against the approval of these banks, Atiur Rahman supported it, and he even delivered speeches at Awami League anniversary and party gatherings. The former Governor’s direct involvement in politics contributed to an environment of irregularities and corruption among the heads of state-owned banks. Pressure from the boards led to several scandals, including the Basic Bank heist, the Hallmark scandal at Sonali Bank, and the Bismillah Group, Anontex, and Crescent scandals at Janata Bank.

When asked about the matter, Dr. Atiur Rahman told Bonik Barta, “There was pressure from the government and key ministers and advisers. However, I tried my best to deal with that pressure. When I said there was no need to approve new banks, the finance minister at that time publicly stated that they would approve them for political reasons. When the state-owned and private banks were operating under two different laws, I argued that the country cannot have two laws for the same sector. At that point, the minister called for action against me. As I could no longer continue as an independent governor and was publicly criticized, I resigned voluntarily.”

He added, “I did not feel any undue pressure from the then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina or her family. I always tried to walk with my head held high.”

After Atiur Rahman’s resignation, the then-finance secretary, Fazle Kabir, was appointed governor of Bangladesh Bank. He held the position from March 20, 2016, to July 3, 2022. During his tenure, on October 11, 2018, mobile financial services (MFS) provider ‘Nagad’ was launched. However the service, known as mobile banking, had not received any approval from Bangladesh Bank. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina officially inaugurated Nagad on March 26, 2019. Sajeeb Wazed Joy was later seen attending various Nagad-related events.

Multiple sources close to former Governor Fazle Kabir reported that Joy had called him regarding Nagad’s license. Fazle Kabir himself admitted to Bonik Barta that Joy had spoken to him virtually about the Nagad license issue. Relevant officials from Bangladesh Bank were also present during the conversation.

After 2009, following the establishment of favorable conditions, one private bank after another began to be taken over starting in 2016. S Alam Group took control of banks like Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, and Bangladesh Commerce Bank. The family of the late Awami League leader, Akhtaruzzaman Babu, took full control of United Commercial Bank (UCB) by ousting the founding directors. Salman F Rahman assumed complete control of IFIC Bank, while Mahtabur Rahman Nasir took over the board of NRB Bank by removing the founding directors. In this way, at least two dozen private banks in the country came under the control of families and the Awami League establishment. However, Bangladesh Bank failed to take any action against the irregularities and corruption in these banks.

On July 12, 2022, the then-finance secretary, Abdur Rouf Talukder, was appointed as governor of Bangladesh Bank. He held the position until August 9, 2024. Since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, Abdur Rouf Talukder has been in hiding. He is the only governor in the history of Bangladesh Bank to flee following a political upheaval.

In early June, Bangladesh Bank issued the country’s first full-fledged digital bank license to ‘Nagad Digital Bank PLC’. Sources indicated that Joy played a role in the approval process as well. Several officials from the central bank stated that as governor, Abdur Rouf Talukder acted like a political operative. He merely implemented the directives he received from the government and was known to be very close to Sajeeb Wazed Joy. The Prime Minister’s son was also instrumental in approving Nagad Digital Bank’s license.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government amid a mass student-people uprising, Dr. Ahsan H Mansur was appointed as the new governor. Since assuming office on August 14, he has dissolved the boards of 11 private banks. Additionally, an administrator was appointed to oversee MFS provider Nagad, and the digital banking license granted to Nagad was revoked. At a press conference on August 22, Governor Ahsan H Mansur stated, “There are questions regarding the ownership and approval of Nagad. Nagad has created more digital money than the amount of money deposited in cash, violating regulations. To ensure that the organization does not go beyond control and no one is defrauded, we have appointed an administrator.”