BIFFL CEO assaulted for refusing Tk1,400cr Teesta Solar loan: Ex-BB governor Rouf, ex-NBR chief Muneem get permanent bail

A Dhaka court has granted permanent bail to former Bangladesh Bank governor Abdur Rouf Talukder and former National Board of Revenue chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem in a case filed over allegations that a former BIFFL CEO was assaulted, threatened with death and forced to resign for refusing to approve Tk1,400 crore in loan and investment facilities for Teesta Solar and several Beximco Group companies.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ariful Islam passed the order after a hearing on Thursday (20 August), said plaintiff's lawyer Mahbubur Rahman.

According to the lawyer, the permanent bail was granted to the two accused based on the investigation findings submitted by the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI).

PBI Inspector Mohammad Masud Rana, the investigation officer in the case, submitted the investigation report to the court on 6 December 2025, accusing six people.

Salman F Rahman, a former adviser to the ousted Awami League government, is the only accused who has been arrested in the case and remains in jail, according to the case proceedings.

Former Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund Limited (BIFFL) CEO SM Farmanul Islam filed the case with the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on 15 September 2024. The court subsequently ordered the PBI to investigate the allegations.

The case initially named 12 people as accused, including Salman F Rahman, Abdur Rouf Talukder, and Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem.

According to the complaint, while Farmanul Islam was serving as BIFFL's CEO, he came under pressure to provide large-scale loans and investment facilities to companies linked to Salman F Rahman's interests.

In particular, a proposal was made to provide around $185 million, equivalent to about Tk1,400 crore, in financing for the Teesta Solar project, allegedly in violation of institutional policies.

Farmanul refused to approve the financing, citing the company's rules and procedures, according to the complaint.

The complaint further alleged that pressure on him intensified after he rejected the proposal.

He was allegedly pressured to make an advance investment of Tk200 crore in zero-coupon bonds of a company linked to Salman F Rahman and to provide loans worth hundreds of crores to various Beximco Group companies without collateral.

Farmanul also rejected those proposals, citing complications over defaulted loans reflected in Credit Information Bureau (CIB) reports, according to the case statement.

The complaint alleged that at BIFFL's 80th board meeting on 28 July 2019, the accused confronted Farmanul after he refused to approve the requested loan and investment facilities.

He was allegedly assaulted, grabbed by the collar and physically harassed before being threatened with death and forced to sign a resignation letter.

The complaint also alleged that his official mobile connection was disconnected, access to his institutional email was blocked and the keys to his personal vehicle were taken away.

He was also allegedly threatened with being implicated in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Following its investigation into allegations of fraud, abuse of power, assault, extortion and intimidation, the PBI submitted a charge sheet to the court.

The court subsequently took cognisance of the charge sheet and issued summons against the accused. Arrest warrants were later issued after the accused failed to appear before the court.