The Anti-Corruption Commission has found that no safe deposit lockers are registered under the names of former Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder and 24 other central bank officials.
ACC director Kazi Sayemuzzaman disclosed the information following a search operation at the central bank.
Sayemuzzaman said, ‘We came to the Bangladesh Bank based on allegations against 25 individuals, but no lockers were found under their names. There are allegations against many others as well. The ACC will conduct more operations with court approval.’
The allegations were raised by various officials within the Bangladesh Bank. Many of the accused are still employed at the central bank, while the others have retired.
These officials are stationed at different regional branches, including those in Khulna, Barishal and Dhaka. So far, the ACC has identified 272 safe deposit lockers.
On Sunday at about 12:30pm, an eight-member ACC team led by Sayemuzzaman arrived at the Bangladesh Bank to conduct the search of the lockers with court approval.
On January 26, the ACC found assets worth Tk 4.70 crore in a safe deposit locker belonging to former deputy governor Sitanshu Kumar Sur Chowdhury at the Bangladesh Bank.
It found 1 kilogram of gold, $1,69,300, €55,000 and a fixed deposit receipt of Tk 70 lakh in the locker.
These assets have since been placed in the Bangladesh Bank’s custody. During that operation, the ACC also identified lockers under the names of other bank officials.
Investigators suspect that some of the officials currently under corruption investigation may also have undisclosed lockers. As a result, the ACC has decided to expand its search operations.
On February 2, the ACC sent a letter to the Bangladesh Bank governor, requesting for measures to prevent unauthorised access to these lockers. Since then, the central bank’s Motijheel branch has restricted locker access.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan told reporters, ‘The ACC team came with a list and checked the records, but they did not find any lockers registered under the listed names.’