Embezzlement Of Tk 30cr
Prime misses BB deadline again to refund jobseekers
Prime Bank is yet to refund the undertaking money its mobile banking service solution provider SMG Infocom Ltd had collected from 2,500 jobseekers for which the central bank had set the deadline of September 30. A BB official told New Age on Tuesday that the central bank is now silent in this connection as it is yet to give any further direction to Prime Bank to recover the undertaking money amounting to around Tk 30 crore.
The central bank issued two separate letters between August 27 and May 14 this year asking the bank to refund the money but it (Prime Bank) did not do so, denying the responsibility for the fraudulent act, he said.
The BB letters said that the bank had no scope to escape the BB action against the fraudulent act of SMG Infocom Ltd and it could not avoid the responsibility for the act in accordance with the Article 7.7 of the central bank’s guidelines on mobile financial services for the banks.
Replying to the central bank’s latest directive, Prime Bank issued a letter to the BB on September 30 saying that it is now discussing with SMG Infocom to refund the money to the jobseekers.
BB officials feared that the bank might dillydally not to refund the money to the jobseekers.
The BB has now the option to file cases against Prime Bank and SMG Infocom if it sincerely wants to recover the undertaking money from them, they said.
Besides, the central bank can also give direction to the bank to file case against SMG Infocom, but the BB is yet to take such action, he said.
The BB cancelled the mobile banking licence of Prime Bank on August 6 this year as the central bank found that Prime Bank was responsible for the swindling of up to Tk 30 crore from the 2,500 job seekers by the bank-appointed mobile banking service solution provider SMG Infocom, using tricks.
The BB earlier conducted an inspection of the mobile financial services of Prime Bank where the central bank had unearthed that SMG Infocom recruited around 2,500 people to operate mobile banking services of Prime Bank.
The solution provider took huge amount of money from them as under taking, using tricks, the BB inspection report said.
The report said that SMG Infocom had closed its operation immediately after the recruitment leaving 2,500 jobless but it had not refunded the undertaking money to the appointed people.
The BB official said that SMG Infocom had received between Tk 50,000 and Tk 2,50,000 from each person as undertaking money.
The solution provider had assured the jobseekers that it would refund the undertaking money to them after recruitment, the official said.
The BB inspection report said SMG Infocom had not returned the undertaking money to the appointed persons, violating the commitment and it also closed its operation.
-With New Age input
