Islami Bank has placed its managing director, Mohammed Monirul Moula, on a three-month leave effective from Monday.
The decision was taken during a board meeting on Sunday, where additional managing director Omar Faruque Khan was appointed as acting MD, according to bank officials.
The board also decided to urge Bangladesh Bank to take disciplinary action against Monirul Moula, citing his involvement in various financial irregularities.
Moula has been implicated in loan scandals linked to the controversial Chattogram-based S Alam Group, which withdrew around Tk聽1.05 lakh crore from Islami Bank alone. Nearly half of that amount was reportedly disbursed under fictitious names.
S Alam Group took control of Islami Bank in 2017, allegedly with the backing from the then Awami League government.
Following the government鈥檚 fall, Bangladesh Bank restructured the bank鈥檚 board, appointing former banker Obaid Ullah Al Masud as chairman.
To examine past irregularities, the new board appointed four audit firms. Their findings indicated direct involvement of Monirul Moula in the anomalies.
Across 10 banks and one non-bank financial institution, S Alam Group secured a staggering Tk 2.25 lakh crore in loans.
According to data from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission, around 44 per cent 鈥� or Tk聽97,486 crore 鈥� was taken using shell companies or without disclosing true ownership. Another Tk聽92,676 crore was borrowed under the group鈥檚 name, while Tk聽34,866 crore was obtained indirectly.
Experts said that such scale of borrowing and irregularities pushed the country鈥檚 banking sector and overall economy into a deep crisis.