BB detects huge amount of money embezzled from 2,500 job seekers
Bangladesh Bank has asked Prime Bank to explain in five working days why the central bank would not cancel no-objection certificate it provided the private commercial bank to run mobile financial services for misappropriating a huge amount of money from 2,500 job seekers. The BB on Monday issued the show-cause notice to the managing director of Prime Bank after a central bank investigation had detected huge anomalies in recruiting manpower for the bank’s MFS — Easy Cash.
The central bank’s show-cause letter said Prime Bank had appointed a solution provider named SMG Infocom Ltd to operate its (bank) mobile banking and SMG Infocom recruited around 2,500 people to operate the service.
The solution provider took huge amount of money from them as undertaking, using tricks, it said.
The show-cause letter said SMG Infocom had closed its operation immediately after the recruitment leaving 2,500 jobless but it had not refund the undertaking-money to the appointed.
A central bank’s team recently conducted an inspection and found that Prime Bank was also involved in the anomalies, the show-cause letter said.
So, Prime Bank is also responsible for the irregularities conducted by SMG Infocom, it said.
A BB official told New Age on Wednesday that SMG Infocom had received between Tk 50,000 and Tk 2,50,000 from each person as undertaking money.
SMG Infocom had published media advertisements on the recruitment, using the Prime Bank’s logo.
The solution provider had assured the jobseekers that it would refund the undertaking money to them after recruitment, he said.
The BB inspection report said SMG Infocom had not given the undertaking money to the appointed, violating the commitment and it also closed its operation.
According to the BB report, the audited financial statement of SMG Infocom on the basis of June 30, 2013 showed that the outstanding of the undertaking money stood at Tk 15.78 crore.
The BB report, however, said the actual undertaking money of the successful candidates for the job might be around Tk 25 crore.
Earlier on March 30, the BB issued a letter asking Prime Bank to refund the undertaking money to the appointed.
Prime Bank managing director Md Ehsan Khasru could not be reached for his comment on the matter over mobile phone despite repeated attempts.
-With New Age input
