SIBL sacks 579 employees appointed ‘by S Alam-controlled board’ without taking exams

Social Islami Bank Limited (SIBL) has terminated 579 employees who were appointed by the bank's former S Alam Group-controlled board during the fallen Awami League regime.

These employees, all of whom hail from S Alam Group owner's home district Chattogram, were appointed by the previous board without issuing any circulars, a senior official of the bank confirmed to TBS on condition of anonymity.

The official also said the previous board did not assess the terminated employees' certificates and did not even take any tests.

The bank's human resources department in the issued termination letters mentioned that the release of the employees from employment will be effective from 1 November.

"These 579 employees were appointed as assistant officers in 2024. There was no circular, examination, or certificate verification for these appointments. Recently, the issue of cancelling their appointment was finalised in a board meeting. Each of them has been informed by letter today," a senior official of SIBL told TBS on Thursday (31 October).

The official further said, "SIBL currently has 4,700 employees. About 2,000 of them are recruited from the Patia area of Chattogram."

Regarding the termination, SIBL Chairman Sadikul Islam said this is an ongoing process. "We are operating within the rules and are working to ensure that no irregularities occur here. Taking action against those involved in wrongdoing is all part of this ongoing process," he added.

Meanwhile, a report titled "Union Bank Irregularities: S Alam Linked to Tk17,229 crore in unpaid loans" published by TBS on 29 October revealed that 76.37% of the workforce at Union Bank, controlled by S Alam, has been recruited from Chattogram, with most of them hired without any form of examination.

On 25 August, the central bank dissolved the board of directors of SIBL. Later, M Sadiqul Islam became chairman of the bank. Md Rezaul Haque was appointed as sponsor shareholder while former executive director of Bangladesh Bank Maksuda Begum was appointed as an independent director.

In 2017, S Alam Group took control of the two banks with the assistance of the central bank and an intelligence agency. A special meeting held at the Westin Hotel in the capital saw the group assuming control of Islami Bank Bangladesh and SIBL.

Additionally, the group gained control of First Security Islami, Global Islami, Union, Bangladesh Commerce, National and Al-Arafah banks. Apart from these banks, the group took substantial loans, both in its name and under various aliases, from multiple banks.

The central bank's inspection report revealed that by the end of December 2023, SIBL's non-performing loans amounted to Tk9,568 crore. However, in the report submitted to the central bank, the bank showed indicated only Tk1,644 crore.

Disclaimer: The report was updated to correct the designation of the sacked employees from 'probationary officers' to 'assistant officers'