State agency helped pro-AL tycoons to funnel $17b from banks: BB boss
Bangladesh’s central bank governor, Ahsan Mansur, has accused a state agency to help tycoons linked to the ousted regime of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to funnel $17 billion out of the banking sector during her tenure.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mansur—appointed as Bangladesh Bank governor following Hasina's departure in August—claimed that a state agency was involved in forced takeovers of major banks. He alleged that approximately Tk2 trillion ($16.7 billion) was siphoned out of the country through mechanisms like loans granted to new shareholders and inflated import invoices.
"This is the biggest heist from banks by any global standards," Mansur said.
It couldn’t have occurred without state sponsorship and security agency involvement, with former CEOs reportedly coerced by threats, he added.
Mansur highlighted Mohammed Saiful Alam, founder and chair of the S Alam Group, as a key figure in these activities, claiming that he and his associates siphoned off at least $10 billion. "They were granting loans to themselves every day," Mansur said.
In response, a statement from S Alam Group, issued by law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, dismissed Mansur’s allegations as baseless. "The interim government's campaign against S Alam Group and other prominent businesses has undermined investor confidence and flouted due process," it said.
The Financial Times also tried reach out the state agency or it public relations agent but it went futile.
Sheikh Hasina, who governed Bangladesh—a nation of 170 million and the world's second-largest garment exporter—for nearly two decades, left amid allegations of election rigging, corruption, and persecution of political opponents. Her current location in India remains undisclosed. The interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has vowed to recover funds it claims were misappropriated by Hasina’s associates.
Mansur, a former IMF official, said he had sought UK assistance in investigating the overseas wealth of Hasina’s allies. He described how intelligence officials allegedly forced bank board members to sell their shares to Alam and to resign, with some reportedly taken to hotels and pressured at gunpoint.
Mohammad Abdul Mannan, former CEO of Islami Bank Bangladesh, recounted being coerced to resign under pressure from individuals linked to the former government. He described how he was diverted to meet a senior official and kept there to force his resignation. "They prepared resignation letters on fake stationery,” Mannan, now chair of First Security Islami Bank, said.
S Alam diversified into banking over the last decade, holding significant stakes in multiple banks, including Islami Bank Bangladesh and First Security Islami Bank.
Mansur stated that Bangladesh plans to recover the diverted funds following an audit of the affected banks, using the audit findings as evidence in international and domestic courts. The interim government has already moved to block share sales in these banks and aims to recapitalise them by selling stakes to reputable investors. An asset management firm will be established to handle distressed assets, and international law firms will be engaged to recover funds potentially stashed in locations like Dubai, Singapore, and the UK.
