BFIU chief Shahinul attends office despite being placed on mandatory leave

AFM Shahinul Islam, the central bank's Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) chief, who was sent on mandatory leave last night (19 August), was seen attending office this morning (20 August).

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur had confirmed the leave last night, telling reporters, "The BFIU chief will remain on leave until the investigation [into a "compromising video" circulating online, allegedly involving Shahinul] is completed. Further action will be taken after the investigation report is received."

Our correspondent, present at the central bank today, spotted Shahinul attending office. It was unclear what the BFIU chief's official activities were.

Our correspondent also observed official files being processed in Shahinul's department.

However, no Bangladesh Bank official commented on whether or not the BFIU chief was defying orders by being there.

Due to this situation, there was some tension observed among central bank staff. Under the leadership of BB's Additional Director Nazrul Islam, about 10-20 officials were seen gathering in front of the central bank. They, however, did not stage any protest. 

Yesterday, a group of central bank officials submitted a memorandum to the governor requesting that Shahinul be placed on mandatory leave.

The move followed confirmation from the governor that the central bank had launched a probe into a "compromising video" circulating online, allegedly involving the BFIU head.

In addition, allegations have emerged against him over allowing nearly Tk19 crore to be withdrawn from a frozen account belonging to transport company Ena Paribahan, owned by Khandaker Enayet Ullah.