The High Court today ordered the government and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to probe allegations that the National Bank illegally approved Tk 3,859 crore in loans to the Bashundhara Group, in violation of regulations banking.

The court asked the officials to submit a progress report within four months.

The directive, issued by Justice Mohammad Ullah and Justice Foyej Ahmed of the HC, applied to six officials, including finance and secretaries, National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman, Bangladesh Bank governor, the chairman of the ACC, head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and chairman of the board of directors of the National Bank.

Additionally, the court issued a rule requiring these officials to explain why their inaction regarding the alleged loan violations should not be declared unlawful.

Among those named are Abdur Rouf Talukder, former governor of the Bangladesh Bank, managing director of the National Bank, as well as several leaders of the Bashundhara group, including its chairman, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, and his sons.

The HC order followed a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Mohammad Sarwar Hossain in a public interest litigation.

The petition referred to a report by Prothom Alo under the title ‘Sarkar Potoner 4 din aage Bashundhara Group ke bishesh cecidha (special privileges given to Bashundhara group four days before the fall of the government), alleging that just four days before the release of the Awami League government, the Bangladesh Bank extended undue privileges to the Bashundhara group, allowing it to delay loan repayments for two years.

The report claimed that the loan of Tk 3,859 crore given by the National Bank to the Bashundhara group far exceeded the permissible loan limit.

Lawyer Sarwar Hossain, supported by lawyer Salah Uddin Reagan, argued that the large loan facility was granted in an “unlawful, arbitrary and discriminatory manner”, as the conditions allowed for rescheduling of loans in suffering of the Bashundhara group for a second time, suspending repayments for two years according to the policies set by the Bangladesh Bank in 2022.