BB withdraws a top official from Nagad

The Bangladesh Bank has withdrawn one of its officials from the top management of mobile financial service (MFS) provider Nagad.

The official, Md Habibur Rahman, is an additional director of the central bank, and served as an associate administrator of Nagad. He joined the team of the BB-appointed administrator at the MFS provider in August 2024, just a few days after the fall of the Awami League-led government through a mass uprising.

The banking regulator withdrew Rahman through an office order on May 19 and appointed him to its Payment Systems Supervision Department.

Subsequently, on May 23, it appointed Syed Himyanuddin Ahmed, an additional director of the Bank Resolution Department of the BB, to Nagad. He joined today (June 7). 

Contacted, Mohammad Shahriar Siddiqui, director and assistant spokesperson for the BB, told The Daily Star that it was a regular process. "We regularly transfer and appoint officials for various reasons.”

Both Md Motasem Billah, the central bank-appointed administrator for Nagad, and Rahman declined to comment on the matter.

However, at least three Nagad officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the termination of the company's head of marketing and a subsequent dispute over the replacement may have prompted the move. Rahman had been overseeing the Human Resources Department.

On May 13, the administrator terminated Nagad's head of marketing over various allegations and appointed a replacement.

Complications arose when a quarter allegedly sought to reverse the appointment and install a candidate of their own choosing. When that recommendation was not accepted, pressure was reportedly brought to bear on the administrator and BB to remove Rahman, the officials said. 

Meanwhile, various allegations and speculations have circulated on the social media and elsewhere regarding Nagad's current administrator-led management team.

In response to these allegations, Nagad recently issued a press statement saying that a vested group had been engaged in a ‘malicious campaign’ on the social media regarding several issues related to the company.

In doing so, the group has been using “false and fabricated” information to create misleading narratives involving Md Motasem Billah, the administrator appointed by the BB at Nagad, the statement said.

"Nagad strongly condemns this conspiracy and, at the same time, firmly protests against such activities,” it added.

Nagad, an MFS wing of the Bangladesh Post Office, has been operating on the basis of BB’s interim approval since 2019 during the tenure of Sheikh Hasina government. Nagad does not have any licence like other 13 MFS operators in the country. 

Following the political transition in August 2024 through a mass uprising, the central bank appointed an administrator to Nagad amid numerous allegations of irregularities in the MFS provider's operations and transactions.