One of the five Sonali Bank officials quizzed by the Anti-Corruption
Commission (ACC) testified to involvement of the bank's high-ups in the
Tk 36 billion loan scam.
Bank's Assistant General Manager (Control and Vigilance) Shyamal Kanti Nath talked with journalists after he was questioned by the six-strong ACC team probing the scandal.
"Many of the bank's high-ranking officials were involved in this financial scam. The incident took place in such a way that we could not even sense it," Nath said.
A Bangladesh Bank audit recently revealed embezzlement of credit money from the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch of the bank. The Hallmark Group alone drew about Tk 26 billion from the branch.
Asked whether the high-ups' carelessness paved way for the scam, he said, "I don't believe they did it because of their innocence."
According to Nath, the scam came to their knowledge only after it appeared in the newspapers in May. Later, a team of three was sent to the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch of the bank for inspection and he was one of the inspectors.
"During the inspection, we could make out that the probe cannot not be completed in a single day. Later, we informed the bank's foreign exchange branch about the matter," he added.
Besides Nath, Deputy General Managers at the bank's headquarters Md Morshed Alam Khandker and Nesar Ahmed, and Assistant General Managers Abul Momin Patwari, and Shameem Akhter were also questioned by the anti-graft watchdog on Wednesday.
The ACC had questioned six other officials of the Sonali Bank on Monday.
Bank's Assistant General Manager (Control and Vigilance) Shyamal Kanti Nath talked with journalists after he was questioned by the six-strong ACC team probing the scandal.
"Many of the bank's high-ranking officials were involved in this financial scam. The incident took place in such a way that we could not even sense it," Nath said.
A Bangladesh Bank audit recently revealed embezzlement of credit money from the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch of the bank. The Hallmark Group alone drew about Tk 26 billion from the branch.
Asked whether the high-ups' carelessness paved way for the scam, he said, "I don't believe they did it because of their innocence."
According to Nath, the scam came to their knowledge only after it appeared in the newspapers in May. Later, a team of three was sent to the Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch of the bank for inspection and he was one of the inspectors.
"During the inspection, we could make out that the probe cannot not be completed in a single day. Later, we informed the bank's foreign exchange branch about the matter," he added.
Besides Nath, Deputy General Managers at the bank's headquarters Md Morshed Alam Khandker and Nesar Ahmed, and Assistant General Managers Abul Momin Patwari, and Shameem Akhter were also questioned by the anti-graft watchdog on Wednesday.
The ACC had questioned six other officials of the Sonali Bank on Monday.
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