Bangladesh Bank has contacted the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) requesting it to take action against a businessman who allegedly forged the signature of a lawmaker while attempting to secure a loan from a non-bank financial institution (NBFI).

The matter came to the BB’s notice after First Finance tried to extend a credit support of Tk 15 crore to Amjad Hossain, owner of Megh City Complex, a multi-storied commercial building in Bogura through the central bank.
Bangladesh Bank has contacted the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) requesting it to take action against a businessman who allegedly forged the signature of a lawmaker while attempting to secure a loan from a non-bank financial institution (NBFI).

The matter came to the BB’s notice after First Finance tried to extend a credit support of Tk 15 crore to Amjad Hossain, owner of Megh City Complex, a multi-storied commercial building in Bogura through the central bank.

First Finance is not allowed to disburse more than Tk 1 crore to any client without BB’s approval because of the NBFI’s failure to pay back its depositors.

First Finance wrote to the central bank in February this year, seeking its permission to approve the loan, according to the letter from the NBFI signed by its then acting managing director Md Tuhin Reza, who is currently the additional managing director of the institution.
The BB rejected the prayer.

In June, the NBFI filed another application with the BB requesting it to reconsider its decision. This prompted the central bank to inspect the matter.

During the inspection, the BB found discrepancies in information provided by First Finance and scraped the application for the second time, said BB officials.
Amjad Hossain did not give up. He wrote to the BB governor on September 9 to clear the loan request after allegedly forging the signature of Tanvir Shakil Joy, a ruling party lawmaker from Sirajganj-1.

As BB officials contacted Joy over the matter, he was left astounded. Joy said he knew nothing about the letter.

“My office did not issue the letter. The signature is not mine. It is a fake letter. It was sent to you by a vested quarter to tarnish my image,” he wrote to the BB governor in October.

Joy told The Daily Star last week he wrote the letter to the governor seeking action against the culprits who tried to secure the loan by forging his signature.

In this situation, BB asked the CID and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to take steps.

Asked about the matter, Amjad Hossain claimed that a former driver of one of his friends helped him send the “MP’s letter” to the central bank.

“I don’t have any contact with Joy,” he said.

He said he also wrote to the finance ministry for clearing the loan for Megh City Complex after which the ministry forwarded the letter to the BB.

He claimed that the central bank had already given a no-objection certificate to First Finance to disburse the loan.

But First Finance is now in a liquidity crunch, which is why it can’t release the loan, he claimed.

Megh City Complex is located in Bogura. Its construction has remained halted for five years due to fund shortage.

Humayun Kabir, special superintendent of police of CID (organised crime), said they had already launched an enquiry into the matter.

Contacted, Mohammed Mosharaf Hossain, managing director of First Finance, said the incident happened before he joined the NBFI in July.

“We will take all steps to safeguard the interests of our depositors,” he said.

Tuhin Reza, additional managing director of the NBFI, did not reply to text messages and pick up calls from The Daily Star.

First Finance is not in good shape.

Its deposit stood at Tk 638 crore as of June this year. It borrowed Tk 120 crore from banks and other non-banking institutions.

State-run Investment Corporation of Bangladesh has had a deposit of Tk 118 crore with First Finance, but it failed to return it following maturity of the fund.

Similarly, the First Finance owes Tk 20 to Janata Bank, Tk 22 crore to BIFFL, Tk 10 crore to Social Islami Bank Ltd and Tk 5 crore to Karmasangsthan Bank. The lenders have complained to the BB about First Finance’s failure to return the deposits.

First Finance’s outstanding loans were Tk 900 crore, of which more than 30 percent are non-performing loans, according to data from the central bank.

“We are trying to recover the non-performing loans so that we can repay depositors,” said Mohammed Mosharaf Hossain.