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BB to conduct forensic audit of Nagad

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The central bank has decided to conduct a forensic audit of all previous activities of Nagad, a company that delivers a host of digital financial services.

A proposal to this end was approved at a meeting of the board of directors held at the Bangladesh Bank (BB) headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday.

BB governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur chaired the meeting.

"Our board has approved to conduct a forensic audit of Nagad," Husne Ara Shikha, spokesperson for the central bank, told the media through an audio message after the meeting.

Sources said the central bank would appoint a firm to audit Nagad that operates under the Bangladesh Post Office.

A forensic audit is an examination and evaluation of a firm's or individual's financial records through which evidence is derived to be used in a court of law or in legal proceedings.

The central bank has taken the decision in line with the recommendations of Nagad administrator Muhammad Badiuzzaman Didar, according to the sources.

The administrator has urged the central bank to carry out such an audit to identify fraud and forgery of the mobile financial service (MFS), they added.

Criticising Nagad's business procedure, the BB governor earlier said the MFS somehow managed to convince the immediate-past regime to get government's cash transfer facilities without any competition.

Earlier on August 21, the central bank appointed Mr Didar, who served as a director of the BB, as administrator of the MFS provider for a one-year term.

To support the administrator's overall operations, six central bank officers were also appointed to different positions at Nagad.

Nagad, which entered the mobile financial market in March 2019, is still running on a temporary licence from the central bank.

Last June, the regulator extended the tenure of the licence for seventh time, meaning it is set to expire in June 2025.

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