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Labour Advisor M Sakhawat Hossain has claimed that a single garment company took Tk 482.48 billion in loans from 16 banks and seven financial institutions, with no clarity on where the money went.
On Sunday, Sakhawat said authorities were “trying to get the money back”.
“From one bank alone, Janata Bank, it took nearly Tk 240 billion,” he said.
He said that Janata Bank had not given a satisfactory explanation of how such financing was approved, blaming banking regulators for the situation.
Sakhawat criticised the collapse of institutional structures under the previous administration, saying that when he took charge, law and order was fragile, police were reluctant to return to duty after police stations were burned, and many officials had fled.
“Where else have you heard of a central bank governor absconding? Three from Bangladesh, including the so-called banker-to-the-poor, are on the run,” he said.
He described the current environment as one where people can now speak freely without fear of abduction or killing.
“When we came, 42 labour leaders were in jail; now only one remains,” he said while speaking at a Centre of Policy Dialogue (CPD) discussion.
The advisor accused some owners of taking workers’ money abroad while failing to pay wages. Several such owners’ properties and deeds had been seized by his ministry and were ready for sale within days, with proceeds to repay loans from the Workers’ Central Fund.
He stressed that unpaid wages predated the interim government and were enforced through fear.
On criticism, he said he had to tolerate abuse without retaliation: “If there’s been failure, it’s not mine alone, it’s yours too.”