BASIC Bank ScamMP Fazle Noor Tapash demands resignation of ACC chief

FT ONLINE

Awami League (AL) lawmaker Barrister Sheikh Fazle Noor Tapash on Monday demanded the resignation of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Iqbal Mahmud.

“As the ACC has not filed any case against former BASIC Bank chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu in spite of directives from the court, ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmud should step down from his post,” he said.

He made the remark while talking to reporters on the Supreme Court (SC) premises in the capital.

Tapash said, “Despite, the Appellate Davison of the SC made directives for the ACC to submit a charge sheet accusing Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu in the BASIC Bank scam. But, the ACC has violated the directives.”

People want to know the reason behind this, he added.

The ACC interrogated Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu several times in connection with swindling around Tk 2,200 crore from the state-run bank but didn’t file any case against him.

Meanwhile, in September 2015, the ACC filed 54 cases against 56 people, including officials of the BASIC Bank Limited. But it did not include, in many people's eyes, the key graft suspect –former chairman Sheikh Abdul Hye Bacchu.

According to an inquiry of Bangladesh Bank, about Tk 4,500 crore was swindled out from BASIC Bank for six years while Sheikh Abdul Hye Bachhu served as its chairman.