Refunding money
Hallmark Group ignores Sonali Bank notice
The Hallmark Group ignored a Sonali Bank notice to refund a half of the money it had embezzled from its branches as the 15-day deadline ends today.
The Hallmark Group embezzled Tk 2,668.38 crore from the branches of Sonali Bank.
On September 4, Sonali Bank issued a letter asking the Hallmark Group to refund Tk 1,334.19 crore by September 18.
The Sonali Bank board decided to realise half of the money in cash in 15 days after Hallmark’s managing director Tanvir Mahmud told the media that his company defalcated 20 times the amount, a senior official of Sonali Bank told New Age on Monday.
The Hallmark Group did not even care to reply, he said.
Asked whether or not Sonali Bank would take any action if Hallmark Group did not comply, he said that the bank would take a decision in this regard today.
On September 10, the finance ministry asked Sonali Bank to take legal action against the persons involved in Hallmark Group’s defalcation of its money.
Until September 17, Sonali Bank filed no case against the Hallmark Group.
On September 13, Sonali Bank managing director Pradip Kumar Dutta said that more time was needed to file criminal cases against the Hallmark Group.
Sonali Bank suspended 20 of its officials and made two deputy managing directors officials on special duty for their alleged involvement with Hallmark Group in the defalcation.
On September 12, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Bangladesh Bank issued a letter asking all the commercial banks to provide in 10 days detailed information of the bank accounts of 39 officials of Sonali Bank including its former managing director Humayun Kabir.
An investigation by Bangladesh Bank revealed that the Hotel Ruposhi Bangla branch of Sonali Bank had lent Hallmark Group and five other companies Tk 3,606.48 crore between 2010 and May this year on the basis of fake documents.
The Hallmark Group embezzled depositors’ money in Sonali Bank in connivance with some of its officials.
Courtesy of New Age
