Jamaat submits financial report without bank account, cites 'unfavourable' environment

Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami has submitted its income and expenditure report to the Election Commission (EC) for the 2024 calendar year, but the report does not include any bank account details.

The party's Assistant Secretary General Hamidur Rahman Azad explained the omission by citing the "unfavourable" political environment of the last 15 years.

In response to a question from a journalist, Azad said, "For the last 15 years, we have not been able to live in our own homes. Why would we go and open a bank account?

"If we had gone to open a bank account, we would have had to go to jail.... For that reason, the return we have submitted now does not mention a bank. In the next return, we will certainly do this if the environment is favourable," he claimed.

According to the EC's party registration rules, it is mandatory for every registered political party to provide the name of the bank and its account number.

Jamaat-e-Islami last submitted an income and expenditure report in 2008 before its registration was cancelled in 2013. The party regained its registration this year following the fall of the Awami League government in the July Uprising.

Jamaat's audit report for 2024 shows an income of Tk28.97 crore against an expenditure of Tk23.73 crore. The party has the highest income among the 29 registered political parties that submitted their reports, surpassing even the BNP.

Azad defended the practice of operating without a bank account. 

"If you look at the accounting methods from the time of my forefathers, how many people had bank accounts? Transactions worth millions are done in shops. There are still a large number of people in Bangladesh who do not have a bank account," he claimed.

"If you bring in a system of accounts, everyone can maintain accounts in their own way. The Election Commission also does not impose any condition that a party must open a bank account to maintain its records. This is a matter of our party's decision," he added.

Azad mentioned that based on a party decision, the audit report from 2008 did include bank account details. "We worked according to that. But you know what happened in the country after that, there is no need for an explanation. We couldn't live in our homes for these 15 years. How would we open a bank account?"

He reiterated that if conditions are favourable next year, the party will open an account and submit the details to the EC with their next audit report. A Jamaat-e-Islami delegation submitted the 2024 audit report to the Election Commission on 31 July.