Remove illegally appointed officials from Islami Bank

The Islami Bank Shareholders' Forum formed human chains and held protest rallies in the capital and across all districts and divisional cities on Monday, demanding the removal of inefficient and illegally appointed officials and employees of the Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, who are linked to the S Alam Group.

Simultaneous demonstrations were also held in front of all branches of the bank, including its head office in the capital's Dilkusha area.

Speaking at the rally in front of the bank's head office, protest leaders alleged that a total of 7,224 individuals from Chattogram -- more than 4,500 of whom were from Patiya upazila -- were appointed to various positions in the bank between 2017 and August 2024, without following proper recruitment procedures.

They alleged that such regional bias and secretive appointments had severely compromised the bank's internal discipline and undermined meritocracy.

They said the S Alam Group took control of Islami Bank in 2017 by leveraging state machinery, coercing legitimate shareholders to relinquish their ownership, and driving out foreign investors through intimidation.

They further alleged that since assuming control, S Alam had made significant financial gains by appointing individuals without due process, many of whom are from his native Patiya and Chattogram, and thus eroding the bank's professionalism and service quality.

They urged the bank authorities to promptly dismiss the officials accused of being unlawfully appointed under the influence of S Alam. They warned that if these individuals are not sacked by next Thursday, a larger movement will be orchestrated.

They said that dismissing illegally appointed employees couldn't be considered a human rights violation, as the real injustice was done against citizens from 63 districts who were deprived of employment opportunities. They vowed to rescue Islami Bank from the grip of the mafia at any cost.

Earlier, to assess the qualifications of these employees, the bank arranged a special examination through the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of the University of Dhaka on 27 September. Of the 5,385 officials summoned, 4,971 reportedly refused to sit the exam, while only 414 participated.

In response, the bank placed the non-compliant officials on special duty (OSD) and dismissed 400 individuals for defying the management's directive. They have been instructed to refrain from all operational activities until further notice.

Several organisations, including the Islami Bank Clients' Forum, Socheton Babsayi Forum, Islami Bank Former Bankers' Council, Anti-Discrimination Job Seekers' Council, Socheton Peshajibi Group, Islami Bank CBA, and the Socheton Bankers' Society, joined the demonstration.

talhabinhabib@yahoo.com