BFIU seeks loan details of South Bangla Bank chairman
The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has asked banks to provide loan details of South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank Chairman Abdul Kadir Molla.
"We have requested banks for the information about Abdul Kadir Molla and one Sharif Hossain last week," a BFIU official told The Business Standard on Sunday wishing not to be named.
The financial intelligence unit wanted the details about loan sanction dates, references and report on loan rescheduling of Abdul Kadir Molla, show the BFIU letter sent to banks.
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Besides, the letter has asked for information regarding stimulus loans, and import and export data of firms owned by the bank chairman.
A recent central bank report shows some exporters misused loans released from the Export Development Fund (EDF) and eventually turned those into huge forced loans due to failure in payment to the lenders on the due date.
Abdul Kadir Molla's Thermax Melange Spinning Mills and Thermax Knit Yarn cropped up in the Bangladesh Bank report. The two companies' forced loan with the lender Sonali Bank amounts to around Tk246 crore as of December 2021.
Borrowers are given foreign currency loans at a minimum cost from the EDF, a refinancing fund created from the foreign exchange reserve for bringing export proceeds.
According to the EDF rule, borrowers will get the highest 270 days to repay the EDF loan after getting export proceeds. If they fail to do so within this period, the Bangladesh Bank will deduct the foreign currency amount from the lender's account maintained with the central bank and the lender will create a forced loan against the borrower.
Though borrowers take loans from the EDF in foreign currency, the forced loans are converted in local currency.
When a borrower fails to repay the loan, it indicates that the borrower did not repatriate export proceeds according to the EDF loan condition.
Contacted, Abdul Kadir Molla told TBS that the BFIU could have sought the information as part of their "routine work".
"They can ask the loan details of anyone. Information will be provided as per their instructions," he added.
