The removal of Ahsan H Mansur as Bangladesh Bank (BB) governor has been an entirely avoidable drama.

The removal of Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, widely credited with steadying an economy that was on the brink of potential collapse, has been described by many as nothing short of a blunder by the new government.

Critical decisions are usually judged by three things: their merit, method, and meaning or significance.

All of a sudden, on Wednesday afternoon, the BNP-led new government cancelled the contract of Ahsan H Mansur as governor of the Bangladesh Bank and, at the same time, appointed Md Mostaqur Rahman, a businessman from the garment industry, as the new governor.

During the 18 months of the interim government, his reform efforts were widely known

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce, the German philosopher Karl Marx said.

When Ahsan Habib Mansur assumed office in the second week of August 2024 following a mass uprising, the financial reality was precarious.

Ahsan Mansur’s planned ordinance gets stuck

He assured depositors their funds would remain safe during the transition, as the government would take over the merged banks

Govt must stay the course to recover stolen assets

The government has decided to create a fund to compensate victims of financial irregularities by using money and assets recovered from alleged embezzlers and money launderers.

Funds include $1.3 billion from IMF

Bangladesh Bank will soon announce its monetary policy for the second half of the ongoing fiscal year (2024-25) with the aim of addressing several economic challenges plaguing the country.

The central bank governor made this remark while inaugurating the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Bangladesh Institute of Bank Management (BIBM) in the city.

He also said that legal action would be taken against the S Alam Group chairman and other officials for their alleged crimes in the banking sector

The immediate past Awami League government’s failure to settle an international arbitration claim has left Bangladesh in a legal tangle in the US, leading to a surprise judicial order against two top officials of the interim government during their official visit to Washington last week.

A US court on Thursday issued “bench warrants for the arrest” of Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed and central bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur whom a power company wants to testify, as it seeks to enforce a collective $31.9 million in arbitration awards against Bangladesh.

The meetings will take place in between October 21 and October 26 

Bangladesh has sought assistance from the UK to investigate the overseas wealth of allies of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, as the new government intensifies its crackdown on members of her ousted regime, The Financial Times (FT) reported

BB is not blocking or interfering with the accounts of any businesses, regardless of their political affiliations, said BB Governor Ahsan H Mansur