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.”