Bangladesh Bank has slapped a fine of Tk 10,000 on The Farmers Bank managing director Choudhury Moshtaq Ahmed on charge of illegal payment of Tk 1.92 crore as office rent.
The newly-launched Farmers Bank paid one of the directors of the bank, who is also the owner of the building that housed the headquarters of the bank, Tk 1.92 crore as rent even before the start of the operation of the organisation, said a BB official.
The bank paid the rent amounting to Tk 3.07 crore between September 2010 and March 2013, although it had no activity before April 2012.
The central bank gave letter of intent to the bank in March 2012 for its banking operation.
The Farmers Bank earlier applied to the central bank to allow it to pay the building owner Tk 3.07 crore as rent for 32 months (September 2010 to March 2013).
But the BB asked the bank to pay the office rent for 12 months between April 2012 and April 2013.
Despite the BB objection, The Farmers Bank paid the rent for 32 months.
Against the backdrop, the central bank imposed financial penalty against the bank asking it to recover excess amount of the office rent in the quickest possible of time.
The bank’s headquarters is located in Jabbar Tower of the city’s Gulshan area.
Azmat Rahman, an owner of the tower, is a director of the bank. He is also a son of Mohammad Athar Uddin, another director and also vice-chairman of the bank, the BB official said.
This is the first instance that the central bank imposed a fine against a chief executive of the newly-approved nine banks, a BB official told New Age on Monday.
Former home minister and ruling Awami League leader Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir is the chairman of the bank.
-With New Age input
