Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC is incurring an estimated Tk 1,500 crore in annual losses due to salaries and allowances for 8,340 staff recruited under S Alam Group without any qualification assessment, according to internal sources of the country’s largest Shariah-based lender.
Since taking full control of Islami Bank in 2017 with state patronage, Chattogram-based conglomerate S Alam has allegedly used the institution as its personal reserves.
Bank officials allege that under chairman Saiful Alam Masud, thousands of unskilled and ineligible individuals – many with fake certificates – were placed in key positions, bypassing recruitment rules and examinations.
At the same time, insiders say nearly Tk 1 lakh crore was funneled out of the bank through loans, much of which the central bank suspects have been siphoned abroad.
In recent months, Islami Bank has moved to weed out fake certificate holders and initiated a special qualification re-evaluation process for those controversially hired.
But nearly 90% of these employees boycotted the skill test and instead staged protests, organising press conferences and spreading campaigns against the bank’s management.
On Friday morning, the bank’s official Facebook page was hacked – later restored by noon – further intensifying fears inside management circles. Current officials now warn that S Alam’s recruits could pose direct security threats to the institution.
An Islami Bank official told TIMES of Bangladesh on condition of anonymity, “Nothing is safe in the hands of these rebellious officers. The way they have defied the bank’s instructions makes our vaults and cash counters completely vulnerable.
“The authorities will take swift decisions regarding them.”
Management sources fear that unless decisive action is taken, the controversial recruitment legacy of S Alam could continue to bleed the bank financially while also exposing it to operational sabotage.
