Former BASIC Bank Chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachchu has said he does not consider himself guilty of a Tk 35 billion loan fraud.
He made the remark as the Anti-Corruption Commission questioned him at the anti-graft watchdog offices in Segunbagicha around 9:30am on Monday. ACC officials began grilling him around 10:45am.
The former BASIC Bank boss went to the offices in answer to a summons issued against him and a few others on November 23.
The ACC began questioning people in connection with the loan fraud investigation on October 22 of this year.
The former directors of BASIC Bank questioned so far are Md Anwarul Islam, Anis Ahmad, Quamrun Naher Ahmed, Prof Kazi Akhtar Hossain,
Shakhawat Hossain, Fakhrul Islam, AKM Kamrul Islam, Jahangir Akhand Salim, Shyam Sunder Sikder and AKM Rezaur Rahman.
The former BASIC Bank executives are being questioned after several rounds of Supreme Court observations regarding corruption at the bank.
The ACC opened an investigation into the state-run bank after allegations that Tk 35 billion in loans had been illegally distributed from the Gulshan, Dilkusha and Shantinagar branches between 2009 and 2011.
BASIC Bank is accused of giving loans without collateral and using false documents and fictitious names and organisations in violation of rules and regulations.
After nearly four years of investigation, the ACC filed 56 cases at three police stations in Dhaka, accusing 156 individuals.
Of them, 26 are bank officials and the others connected to lending institutions and bank oversight organisations.
But the absence of Bachchu and other prominent members of the board of directors on the list of suspects prompted controversy.
The anti-graft watchdog, ACC, claimed they had not found any evidence of Bachchu’s involvement in the loan scam.
The parliamentary standing committee on the finance ministry was unhappy with the ACC findings and the central bank opened a separate investigation into the matter.
In February 2016,according to a bdnews24 report, Finance Minister AMA Muhith claimed the investigation into BASIC Bank had found evidence of Bachchu’s roles in frauds tied to loans, appointment and promotion.
In August, the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division expressed its anger that Bachchu and the board of directors had not been named as suspects in loan frauds and money laundering.
Facing criticism, an ACC director told the media that Bachchu would be called in for questioning, even though he was not on the list of suspects.
Bachchu, a former Jatiya Party MP, was appointed as the chairman of the bank in 2009. His appointment was renewed in 2012.
Bachchu resigned in 2014 amid pressure following the emerging allegations.