Islami Bank chair accuses his deputy of violating oath

The chairman of Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd yesterday alleged that the bank's vice-chairman violated his oath of office by spreading propaganda about the bank.

Vice-Chairman Syed Ahsanul Alam, who is also an independent director of the bank, gave wrong information to the media about the Zakat fund, scholarships and Iftar expenditure, Arastoo Khan, chairman of the bank, told reporters at a press conference at the bank's headquarters in the city's Motijheel.

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The allegation is the latest to hit the bank.

The internal feud among the directors of the bank came four months after a major change had been made to the board.

Arastoo said different media reported that the board had decided to donate the IBBL Zakat fund's Tk 450 crore to the Prime Minister's Zakat Fund. “But no such decision has been made,” he said.

He said the prime minister had called him over the issue and warned him about spreading such wrong information in the market.

“I explained to the prime minister that our net profit was Tk 450 crore last year and the size of the Zakat fund was Tk 28 crore,” he said, adding that the board only discussed about the tax issue of the Zakat fund.

During their appointment, directors have to take oath that they will not disclose any information that may affect the bank's image.

Ahsanul violated his oath by spreading wrong information which had dented the bank's reputation, said Arastoo, also a former secretary.

“It is unfortunate that a division has been made within the board. But we will overcome it soon,” he said.

The board, however, had not made any decision whether Ahsanul would be stripped of his directorship because of breaching the oath, according to the IBBL chairman.

Ahsanul was not present during the media briefing. He was in India, Arastoo said.

In January, the IBBL appointed its director Arastoo as the new chairman and brought major changes to key positions.

At the time, Ahsanul was also elected as the vice-chairman.