Published :
Updated :
For all latest news, follow The Financial Express Google News channel.
The High Court (HC) sought details, including name, address and status, of the officials of the Bangladesh Bank's (BB) three departments, who were in charge of overseeing financial institutions (FIs) and preventing money laundering (ML) from 2008 to 2020.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim passed the order after holding hearing on a Suo Moto (voluntary move) rule issued in this regard on Thursday.
The court also asked the BB governor and other respondents to inquire, if the officials concerned were responsible for bankruptcy of the country's FIs during the period, and then submit a report on February 15.
The court said, "We want to know whether the officials of the departments concerned were able to identify the long-term money laundering process during this period, whether they were involved, whether they reported it to the relevant authorities, or whether they fueled or co-operated in the money laundering cases."
"It could not happen that such big events took place, and they did not know anything. They must be accountable to the people of the country. They were public servants. They had to be accountable to the people," it added.
Meanwhile, the court rejected a petition filed by Md Asaduzzaman Khan, provisional liquidator of the People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited and also a deputy general manager of the BB, to become a party in the case.