BB finds S Alam-era hiring irregularities at Islami Bank

A large number of employees were recruited at Islami Bank Bangladesh during the S Alam era in violation of recruitment rules, without job advertisements or written examinations, according to a Bangladesh Bank inspection report that uncovered widespread irregularities.

Between 2017 and 2024, the bank recruited 8,099 employees from Chittagong district, accounting for 74.77 percent of all hires, Bangladesh Bank data show.

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The concentration was particularly pronounced in Patiya upazila, which accounted for 5,148 recruits, or 47.5 percent of total hires and 63.56 percent of Chittagong’s recruits. S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam hails from Patiya.

The report attributed the concentration largely to the absence of publicly advertised vacancies, which limited opportunities for candidates from other parts of the country.

Contacted, Arief Hossain Khan, executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank, told The Daily Star that he was not aware of the report’s findings, but action would be taken against those responsible if any irregularities were found.

In September last year, Islami Bank terminated more than 5,000 officials who did not appear for a special competency evaluation test ordered by the management on September 22 for 5,385 officials whose recruitment was questionable.

The officials were appointed by the S Alam Group without any examination and with fake certificates after the Chattogram-based business group forcibly took over the bank in 2017, the BB report showed.

The S Alam Group’s control over Islami Bank ended in August 2024 with the fall of the Awami League regime. Bangladesh Bank dissolved the bank’s board, which was heavily dominated by individuals linked to the conglomerate.

The new board’s HR audit found that more than 10,000 of the bank’s 21,000 officials had been appointed after the 2017 takeover, according to the bank’s HR department.

CV BOXES REPLACED JOB ADS

The inspection report found that candidates were sourced without advertisements or written tests through CV collection boxes at S Alam Group Chairman’s home in Patiya and the group’s Asadganj office in Chattogram.

The boxes were labelled for different categories, including Patiya General, Patiya Cash, male general/cash, Satkania-Lohagara, Gandamara-Banshkhali, Hindu general, female cash and peon/diploma positions, the report said.

In 2019, 178 trainee officers were recruited for the 24th Probationary Officer batch without a newspaper advertisement, violating the bank’s HR policy and prescribed recruitment procedures. Four probationary officer batches -- the 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th -- were recruited through direct entry.

The BB report said the bank’s rules required written and oral examinations, with candidates needing at least 50 percent in the written test to qualify for the viva. Vacancies were also required to be advertised in at least two national dailies at least 15 days before recruitment. These requirements were not followed in several cases.

In May 2019, the bank issued appointment letters to 178 people, while a memo instructed that 126 of them be sent to First Security Islami Bank at its request. The inspection report said the bank, not being a human-resource agency, was not authorised to make such an arrangement.

The report also found that some DMDs, including Md Akiz Uddin and Miftah Uddin, did not meet the required experience criteria, including the minimum experience in their previous positions and as officers. It further observed that some policy changes after 2017 appeared to have provided unjustified benefits to certain groups.

BB FLAGS UNEQUAL ASSESSMENTS

Bangladesh Bank also found discriminatory treatment in staff assessments involving terminations by the current management. Officers with similar recruitment backgrounds were treated differently, according to the report.

Although the special assessment was arranged for employees recruited during the specified period, 17 officers were dismissed before being given an opportunity to sit for the test.

Another 243 officers did not sit for the assessment but remained employed.

Although the bank cited overseas postings, illness and maternity leave as reasons, the inspection found that some officers who had not applied for exemption were retained, while others who had applied were dismissed.

CURRENT MANAGEMENT’S RESPONSE

Md Altaf Hossain, acting managing director of the bank, told The Daily Star that he was not aware of the central bank inspection report.

He said the officials were not dismissed based on whether their appointments were valid or invalid.

“The recruitment process followed at that time did not comply with the service rules. Therefore, they were given an opportunity to complete the formalities of their appointments by sitting for an examination.”

However, they did not take the examination, he said, adding that those officials also prevented others from participating in it.

“As a result, their appointments were cancelled because they challenged the institution’s decision. Bangladesh Bank also said that the matter was an internal issue of the institution and that the institution could take a decision in this regard.”

M Kamal Uddin Jasim, additional managing director of the bank, who was in charge of the HR department at that time, told The Daily Star that those who could not sit for the examination at that time were tested later.

Two groups are currently protesting in front of Islami Bank headquarters and Bangladesh Bank. One comprises former employees demanding reinstatement, while the other, the ‘Islami Bank Customers’ Coordination Council’, is demanding the arrest of S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam, recovery of stolen assets and dissolution of the current boards of directors.