The interim government on Thursday decided that the Bangladesh Bank would formulate a roadmap to get back the public money deposited in different private banks by ministries and departments.
Spokesperson of the interim government, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, disclosed the decision made at the regular meeting of the advisory council held at the Chief Advisor鈥檚 Officer in the capital鈥檚 Tejgaon area.
鈥楾he meeting of the council of advisers today decided that the finance ministry would ask the Bangladesh Bank to formulate a road map to get back the public money deposited by different ministries in private banks,鈥� she said at a press briefing at the Foreign Service Academy after the meeting.
Rizwana said that the central bank would prepare the roadmap in consultation with the ministries and the private banks.
She added that a meeting would be held to this end soon.
About the public money deposited at private banks, the adviser said that different ministries of the government had some money and they kept those at banks as fixed deposits.聽 鈥榃ith this income, the government takes projects,鈥� she said.
Rizwana said that the ousted government allocated Taka 3,951 crore to Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the authorities concerned deposited some money from the fund to the then Farmers鈥� Bank, which is now Padma Bank.
The amount deposited at the bank now stands at over Taka 873,81,65,853 with interest, but Padma Bank is not paying back the money despite repeated claims, she said.
The bank authorities are renewing the FDR (Fixed Deposit Receipt) every year without consulting with the ministry, he added.
The adviser said that the bank was now saying that they would not be able to pay the money back before 2038, which depicts the vulnerable state of the country鈥檚 banking sector.
She said that the government would also want to know why the ministries deposited the public money at private banks.
Replying to a question, Rizwana said that Sheikh Hasina, as the spokesperson of the ousted government, must face trial in the interest of justice.
Labour and employment adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and chief adviser鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam also spoke at the press briefing.
