Loan Remarks Muhith says sorry Sonali board’s role questioned Facing a barrage of criticism from both in and outside of parliament, Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday made an apology for his remarks on the Sonali Bank loan scam that the Tk 4,000 crore swindled by Hall-Mark Group was a paltry amount. “I should not have ... Read more
Other Headlines
Buet crisis yet to end
Agitating students’ decision on going back to classes by today or tomorrow Receiving assurance from the education minister of a friendly environment, agitating students of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) held a meeting yesterday to decide whether to return to classes. The decision would be announced today or tomorrow at a press conference, the ... Read more
Court accepts case against 7-yr-old girl
Theft, Assault Court accepts case against 7-yr-old girl A seven-year-old stood in the dock at a Dhaka court yesterday, accused of committing theft and assaulting another child of her age. Her mother and two brothers, co-accused in the case, were also in the dock. The court of Senior Judicial Magistrate Afroza Sheuly took into cognisance ... Read more
Nonsense!
Hall-mark scam Nonsense! Muhith ridicules media outcry; experts shocked Finance Minister AMA Muhith’s comments yesterday on the Sonali Bank loan scam — that the swindle of Tk 4,000 crore was a trivial amount –surprised many, including a former minister, an economist and a banker. “Here, my banking crisis — which is not a crisis at ... Read more
Two Sonali Bank DMDs made OSD
Two GMs also removed The government on Tuesday made Sonali Bank Limited deputy managing directors Atiqur Rahman and Mainul Haq officer-on-special duty following the bank’s financial scandal in siphoning out around Tk 3,600 crore by the Hallmark Group. The ministry of finance in an order on the day made the officials of the state-owned bank
BUET crisis lingers
Students rigid in their demand for removal of VC The situation in the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology took a turn for the worse due to the rigid stance adopted by anti-vice chancellor students and top administrative figures of the university. Agitating BUET students were uncompromising in their demand for the removal of the ... Read more
Remove 2 HC judges
Demand treasury bench MPs during discussion at JS over verdict on Speaker’s ruling In a heated discussion in parliament, a number of ruling alliance lawmakers yesterday accused two High Court judges of violating the constitution and demanded that they be removed for delivering a controversial judgment on the Speaker’s June 18 ruling. The two — ... Read more
JCD central committee named
New guards overaged, mired in controversies A 201-member central committee of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, backed by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was announced with Abdul Kader Bhuiyan Jewel and Habibur Rashid Habib, are in or close to their forties, as president and general secretary. Some of the leaders said that Kader and Habibur had ... Read more
3 syndicates, 31 operators supplying Yaba
Dhaka to urge Yangon to shut down 37 factories Dhaka will urge Yangon to shut down at least 37 yaba factories, run by extremist and militia groups, in different states of Myanmar. The request will be made at a high-level meeting between the directors-general of the narcotics departments of the two neighbours, scheduled to be ... Read more
Witness says Alim ordered killing of young men in 1971
The second prosecution witness against former BNP minister Abdul Alim, who was also a lawmaker, told in International Crimes Tribunal 2 on Tuesday that Alim had ordered the killing of many young people in Jaipurhat during the war of independence in 1971. The witness, Md Saidur Rahman, now 67, also told the tribunal that Alim, ... Read more
10th prosecution witness against SQ Chowdhury cross-examined
War Crimes Trial 10th prosecution witness against SQ Chowdhury cross-examined reedom fighter Kazi Mohammad Nurul Absar on Tuesday testified that a cook of a restaurant at Chandpura in Chittagong was arrested in September 1971 after an abortive attack by freedom fighters on the life of Salauddin Quader Chowdhury. The cook was brutally tortured in custody ... Read more
JS session begins without opposition
Speaker asks MPs to speak gently as children may be watching Speaker Abdul Hamid on Tuesday asked the lawmakers to be guarded in their speech in the House to ensure that their words would not have a negative impact on the minds of the children who watch the sessions on TV. The speaker made the ... Read more
Fitness certificate scheme up against a wall
Only 41 BRTA inspectors to examine more than 15 lakh vehicles Worn out public vehicles are plying on city streets with gusto, owing to a palpable lack of parity between the number of such vehicles and that of transport inspectors. Also, an attempt to outsource vehicle fitness certificates through motor workshops has hit bureaucratic hurdles, ... Read more
Oman road crash kills 4 Bangladeshis
Four Bangladeshi workers were killed in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on Monday when a truck carrying them lost control and hit iron barriers along the road, reports Gulf News. The bodies of the Bangladeshi workers were transferred to the Royal Oman Police Hospital morgue in Muscat. The names of the dead could not yet be
Woman killed as bike hijackers shoot couple
Gunmen shot dead a woman and injured her husband before hijacking the couple’s motorbike in Gazipur yesterday. The dead is Zulekha Begum, 22, and the wounded Shamim Hossain, 32. A gang of four in a car chased the couple and blocked their way at Salna of Gazipur around 6:00am. The couple were on their way to ... Read more
100 Bangladeshi workers in UAE to lose jobs
Visa Transfer Trouble 100 Bangladeshi workers in UAE to lose jobs One hundred Bangladeshi workers are to lose their jobs as the United Arab Emirates authorities have rejected their new employer’s plea to transfer their visas and let them work on their existing visas. The migrant workers from Dubai said they earlier worked at Hastie ... Read more
The enemy within
Inside the bank, it was in the air that something grossly wrong was going on at three Sonali Bank branches — Ruposhi Bangla, Gulshan and Motijheel local office — regarding loans to a powerful company named Hall-Mark. It was also in the air that some influential political figures were involved in the still unknown scams ... Read more
Sonali to ask Hallmark to refund half of the money in 15 days
Hallmark Scam Sonali to ask Hallmark to refund half of the money in 15 days Sonali Bank will ask the Hallmark Group to refund in 15 days half of the Tk 2,668.38 crore they embezzled from one of its branches, the bank’s director Kashem Humayun, told journalists on Monday. ‘The board is not considering the amount ... Read more
BUET Pro-VC to resign, decision on VC later
Steps taken as edn minister holds crisis management meeting Pro-vice-chancellor of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology Habibur Rahman will be removed and cases filed against BUET teachers and students withdrawn as steps to resolve the protracted crisis in the university. Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid announced the decision to reporters at 1:15am
Muhith keeps all waiting
Padma Bridge Loan Muhith keeps all waiting Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday said the decision on the Padma bridge project would be taken after sitting with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Jica. “I too have a decision,” he said without elaborating further. The minister was talking to newsmen at his secretariat office