Bangladesh Bank Governor Mohammad Mustafak Rahman has stated that one-third of the bank's money has been stolen. He emphasized that those responsible will not be allowed to rest in peace. The Governor noted that much of the stolen money has been laundered and recovering it is challenging, with a global recovery rate of only 2%. Efforts are ongoing to retrieve some of the stolen funds.
During a post-budget press conference, Governor Rahman addressed various questions from journalists regarding the banking sector's crisis of confidence, issues with money availability, and the Islamic bank. He mentioned that the default loans in banks amount to five lakh crore taka, which cannot be covered by revenue. Various measures are being taken to stabilize the banking sector and provide capital to banks.
Regarding the merger of five banks, the Governor explained that discussions about the merger's viability led to the resignation of the chairman and the inability of the managing director to join. Subsequently, a new chairman and managing director were appointed, and the combined Islamic Bank held a board meeting. Soon, their core banking software integration will begin, moving the bank towards the merger process.
The Governor also addressed the issue of depositors' money in financial institutions, stating that there has been a 12-year problem with returning depositors' money. He assured that within the next one to two weeks, depositors in these institutions will receive their money back.
