The High Court today ordered the authorities concerned to probe into the much talked about and reported “loan scam” in three banks – Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank Ltd and First Security Islami Bank – and submit the report within next four months. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after issuing a Suo Motu (voluntary) rule following newspaper reports. The court directed Bangladesh Bank’s Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit the probe report. Read: Basic Bank loan scam: HC orders ACC to complete probe in 3 months At the same time, the court ordered the authorities of these three banks to submit the list of bank officials involved in approving loans worth thousands of crores of taka. The HC also issued a rule, asking why the inaction of the banks to take action against those responsible for approving loans worth thousands of crores and S Alam Group’s Tk 30,000 loan should not be declared illegal. The rule also asked why no instructions should be given to take action against those responsible. Read: Loan default case: 12 Pabna farmers get bail Besides, the HC bench asked S Alam Group to explain the newspaper reports that said the company took Tk 30,000 crore from Islami Bank. The court also set April 5 next year for the hearing and asked to submit the report after verifying the authenticity of the news published. Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan for ACC and Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik for the state were present in the court. Read More: Loan default case: 12 Pabna farmers get bail On November 24, a report was published in the daily Prothom Alo stating that an “unscrupulous group” had taken a loan of Tk 2,000 crore from Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) by opening two companies with fake addresses and papers. In all, about Tk 7,000 crore loans have been approved from Islami Bank in various ways in the name of eight companies this year. The maximum amount of loan, Tk 2,460 crore, was withdrawn from November 1 to 17, according to the newspaper report. Read More: Women entrepreneurs repay loans in most cases: Commerce Minister In the same way, the companies have withdrawn Tk 2,320 crore loan from Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) and the First Security Islami Bank. As a result, the debt of the companies with interest to these three banks has increased to Tk 9,500 crores, it added. Meanwhile, another report published in the New Age newspaper on November 29 said that S Alam Group alone has taken loan of Tk 30,000 crore from Islami Bank. Read More: Payment of Hajj Finance Loan and DPS Instalment through Nagad

A Dhaka court on Wednesday sentenced nine people including a former Managing Director of Sonali Bank to 17 years jail in a case filed over embezzling Tk 27.5 lakh from the state owned bank. Judge Md Iqbal Hossain, Judge of Dhaka Special Judge Court -5 passed the order. Also read:Sonali Bank writes off Tk 2,728 crore of Hall-Mark, 19 other defaulters The convicts are—former  Sonali Bank MD Humayun Kabir, deputy managing director (DMD) Mainul Haque, GM Noni Gopal Nath, DGMs Sheikh Altaf Hossain and Safiz Uddin Ahmed, AGMs Quamrul Hossain Khan and Saiful Hasan and Managing Director of Paragon Knit Composit Limited, Saiful Islam Raza and its director Abdullah Al Mamun.  Of them, Mainul, Safiz, Altaf, Quamrul Hossain were present during the judgment while the others tried in absentia. The court sentenced the convicts ten years imprisonment on charge of embezzling the money and fined them Tk 27.50 lakh.  Besides, the court also sentenced them seven years jail on charge of fraudulence under another section of the relevant law.   The court also fined them Tk 50,000 each and they have to suffer three months more in rigorous imprisonment if they fail to five the fined money. Also read:Fake freedom fighter's certificates scam: ACC sues Sonali Bank DGM On January 1, 2013, deputy director of Anti-Corruption Commission Mujibur Rahman lodged a complaint against them with Ramna Model Police for embezzling Tk 27,50,681. On May 22, 2014, ACC assistant Director Mashiur Rahman submitted a chargesheet against them after investigation. The convicts were also accused in Hall-Mark Scam case.