Sonali Bank managing director Pradip Kumar Dutta on Thursday said that the bank needed more time to file criminal cases against some of its officials and Hallmark Group’s managing director and chairman in connection with swindling of more than Tk 3,606 crore from the bank.
The bank has already appointed two lawyers and continued the process to file the cases, he said at a press briefing at the Sonali Bank headquarters in the city.
He said, ‘The cases may be dismissed if those are filed hurriedly. For this reason, we need more time to file the cases so that there will be no loopholes.’
He, however, said the cases would be filed as early as possible against the alleged officials and Hallmark Group’s managing director Tanvir Mahmud and its chairman Jesmin Chowdhury.
He, however, could not confirm how many Sonali Bank officials would be accused in the cases.
Pradip said that it was not possible to recover the swindled money only by filing cases and so the bank was trying simultaneously to take the Hallmark’s land under mortgage.
He said that the bank would take more than 13 acres land as mortgage from the Hallmark Group against the swindled money by Sunday or Monday.
Sonali Bank’s image will be damaged to the foreign banks if the electronic and print media continuously dish out negative news against the bank, he said.
Under the circumstances, the foreign banks would be reluctant to enter business deals with the bank in the form of opening or settlement of letters of credit.
He requested the journalists to avoid the negative news publishing against the bank.
The finance ministry on Monday directed the bank to take legal steps against the alleged person in connection with the Hallmark Group scam.
Sonali Bank and the ministry of finance have already initiated departmental action against 31 banks officials, including its two deputy managing directors.
An investigation by the Bangladesh Bank revealed that Sonali Bank’s Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch had lent Hallmark Group and five other companies Tk 3,606.48 crore between 2010 and May this year on fake documents.
Courtesy of New Age
