What mandatory leave? I’m working in office: BFIU Chief

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Ahsan H Mansur told the media on Tuesday that AFM Shahinul Islam, head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), had been put on mandatory leave. He said, “The BFIU chief will remain on leave until the investigation is completed, and further action will be taken once the investigation report is received.”

However, on Wednesday (20 August), Shahinul Islam reported to the office as usual, sparking tension within the central bank. He told the media, “What mandatory leave? I am working in the office.”

Earlier, several Bangladesh Bank officials submitted a memorandum to the governor, urging that Shahinul Islam be immediately placed on mandatory leave. The memorandum claimed that the circulation of multiple controversial videos of Shahinul Islam on social media had severely damaged the reputation of Bangladesh Bank and the national financial sector.

Following this, the central bank’s IT department launched an investigation into the authenticity of the videos. A report on the findings is scheduled to be submitted to the governor on Wednesday.

The video leak emerged at a time when Shahinul Islam was under intense scrutiny for approving the withdrawal of Tk19 crore from the frozen bank accounts of Khondkar Enayet Ullah, owner of Ena Transport. In November last year, the BFIU had frozen around 50 accounts belonging to Enayet Ullah and his family, totaling approximately Tk120 crore. However, in April this year, four accounts at Bank Al-Falah were left unfrozen, allowing the withdrawal of Tk19 crore. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recently became aware of this.

The ACC’s investigation also revealed that Enayet Ullah, former General Secretary of the Road Transport Owners Association, collected around Tk1.65 crore daily in extortion from buses running on various routes. On 27 May, a court order froze Tk120 crore in these accounts. It has now been found that roughly Tk101 crore remains, and allegations have surfaced that the withdrawal of the remaining funds involved unethical benefits.