THE true extent of financial crimes and malpractice of the Beximco Group, controlled by the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 private industry and investment adviser Salman F Rahman, appear to have not been uncovered yet. Fresh investigations after the fall of the Awami League government in August 2024 in a mass uprising have showed some of the crimes of the group, especially in taking out bank loans and manipulating the share market. Bangladesh Bank data show that the group has allegedly withdrawn about Tk 50,000 crore from banks and non-bank financial institutions, using political clout and circumventing banking norms. Nearly 47 per cent of the amount, or Tk 23,120 crore, has already become non-performing loans. The group used, as a central bank report says, 169 out of its total 188 companies to acquire Tk 49,172 crore in loans from 15 banks and seven non-bank financial institutions as of September 2024. Of the loans, the state-run Janata Bank, in a bad shape now, alone provided Tk 23,912 crore to 29 Beximco firms, of which Tk 19,507 crore is now defaulted. In total, state-run banks gave Tk 27,563 crore to Beximco entities and hid information and gave false information to the central bank to continue with such irregularities and offer loans to the group.
The report mentions that these banks violated rules and regulations, especially the single-borrower exposure limit, in sanctioning loans to entities under the group. The banks extended benefits such as repeated loan rescheduling, extended repayment periods, additional loans and letters of credit facilities, bypassing permissible limits and prudent practices. Bankers say that some concessions that were downright irrational were made to benefit the group. The report also says that about 58 per cent of Beximco鈥檚 total loans were taken out using its textile and apparel division. The division alone took Tk 28,386 crore, with Tk 21,564 crore now in default. Banking sector insiders say that Hasina鈥檚 adviser wielded unchecked power and enjoyed impunity to such an extent that loans were often issued merely on verbal requests before any documentation was completed and he not only used his own companies but also set up shell entities to take out loans and launder money. Allegations of financial crimes committed by the former adviser came to the fore many times and investigations of previous financial scandals, including the 1996 and 2010-11 stock market scams, implicated Salman and Beximco entities, but the Awami League government had never taken any action against him. It, rather, protected him and offered him positions that he could use to commit further financial crimes.
This is assuring that the central bank, the Anti-Corruption Commission and other relevant agencies have now begun investigating the financial crimes committed by big businesses, including the Beximco Group. The authorities must bring the perpetrators of financial crimes to justice, recover the loans and identify and prosecute the people who helped in the financial crimes and bring beneficiaries of the crimes to justice.
