Hallmark Group Managing Director Md Tanvir Mahmud, one of the key convicts in the Hallmark–Sonali Bank loan scandal, passed away at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Saturday night. He was 55.
Md Jannat-ul Farhad, AIG (Development) at the Prisons Department, told the media that Tanvir fell seriously ill inside Dhaka Central Jail on Saturday afternoon. Prison authorities moved him to DMCH at 1:35pm, where he was admitted around 4pm and placed in Extra Bed 19.
According to on duty doctors, his condition deteriorated sharply after admission and he was pronounced dead at about 10:30pm.
Prison officials said Tanvir had been battling several long-standing and complicated medical problems while in custody.
Tanvir Mahmud was a key player in the Hallmark–Sonali Bank loan embezzlement scheme – one of the biggest financial frauds in Bangladesh’s history.
From 2010 to 2012, Hallmark Group and five affiliated firms embezzled more than Tk35 billion from Sonali Bank’s Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch by using forged documents and fictitious letters of credit.
Under Tanvir’s leadership, and with his wife Jasmine Islam acting as chairperson, Hallmark alone diverted close to Tk27 billion.
Investigations carried out by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh Bank revealed collusion with senior officials of the state-owned bank, major lapses in internal governance, and indications of political backing that allowed the scheme to continue unchecked for years.
The ACC eventually lodged 40 cases over the scandal.
In March 2024, a Dhaka court sentenced Tanvir and Jasmine Islam to life imprisonment for criminal breach of trust, alongside additional concurrent terms for fraud and substantial financial penalties. Several bank officials and company executives were also sentenced.
Tanvir was serving those sentences at the time of his death.
