Following the abrupt departure of former Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur, and after the transfer of five officials, the foreign tours of two more officers have been cancelled. In an office order issued at the last moment, Additional Director Md Kamrul Islam and Director Liza Fahmida have been removed from a government training trip to Singapore.
According to Bangladesh Bank documents, a nine-member team from the central bank had been approved to visit Singapore from March 9 to 11 to participate in a program titled ‘Strategic Thinking and Decision Making for Central Bank Leaders’. The Human Resources Division-2 of Bangladesh Bank had approved the tour on February 10.
The list included Liza Fahmida, director of the Financial Sector Support and Strategic Planning Department, and Kamrul Islam, additional director and former Personal Secretary (PS) to the ex-Governor.
However, just one day before the trip, a new office order was issued on March 8 withdrawing the names of these two officials. The order, signed by Nasima Sultana, Director of Human Resources Division-2, directed that their participation in the foreign tour be suspended.
Central bank officials concerned said the two officers, known to be close to the former governor, were removed from the tour list at the last moment. The same sources claimed that Additional Director Kamrul Islam’s name was included in the team even though it was not directly related to the main program of the tour.
Earlier, on 25 February, when Ahsan H Mansur’s appointment as Governor was cancelled, Kamrul was immediately transferred from the Governor’s Branch to the Sadarghat office through a swift administrative order. Subsequently, his name was also removed from the foreign tour list.
It has been learned that the remaining members of the tour team are already in Singapore and are participating in the scheduled program.
