Munirul Mawla removed : Omar Faruk new MD of Islami Bank
Staff Correspondent
Ending all speculation, Muhammad Munirul Mawla has finally been forced to step down from his position as the Managing Director (MD) of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, the largest Islamic bank in the private sector. Now, Additional MD, Omar Faruk Khan, has been assigned as the acting MD.
This decision was made recently during a meeting of the Board of Directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC.
The meeting, held at the Islami Bank Tower, was chaired by the bank’s Chairman, Obaidullah Al Masud.
Executive Committee Chairman Mohammad Khurshid Wahab, Audit Committee Chairman Md. Abdus Salam, FCA, FCS, Risk Management Committee Chairman Prof Dr. M Masud Rahman, Independent Directors Md. Abdul Jalil, and Prof Dr. M Zubaidur Rahman. Additionally, Managing Director Muhammad Munirul Mawla, Shariah Supervisory Committee Member Secretary Prof Dr. Muhammad Abdus Samad, Additional Managing Directors Md. Omar Faruk Khan, Md. Altaf Hussain, and Mohammad Jamal Uddin Mazumdar, along with Company Secretary Mohammad Jahangir Alam, attended the meeting.
A reliable source revealed that Muhammad Munirul Mawla was asked to leave the board meeting when the decision to remove him was being finalized. However, another source stated that the bank’s board decided to send Muhammad Munirul Mawla on a three-month compulsory leave. This decision was made due to his involvement in various irregularities and fraud uncovered during an external audit. It has been reported that on January 5, 2017, with the assistance of former Bangladesh Bank Governor Fazle Kabir and an intelligence agency, the S Alam Group took control of Islami Bank. Audits revealed that the group siphoned off 91,000 crore taka from the bank through various means. After S Alam Group seized control, Munirul Mawla emerged as a dominant figure in the bank. He was quickly promoted, first to Additional Managing Director, and later appointed MD in December 2020.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, most of the bank’s board members and several Deputy Managing Directors (DMDs) went into hiding. For unknown reasons, Munirul Mawla remained in his position. A director of Islami Bank told the media that there had been demands to remove Munirul Mawla since the new board took charge. "However, we were waiting for the external auditor’s report. Now, the report is nearing completion. The audit report has found evidence of his involvement in loan fraud by the S Alam Group and irregularities amounting to 13,645 crore taka by the Nabil Group, among other issues. This is why the decision was made to send him on leave."
Earlier, Abul Kalam Azad, a Senior Principal Officer of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, demanded the removal and arrest of Managing Director Muhammad Munirul Mawla. In a Facebook post on January 29, he described Munirul Mawla as a "world-renowned corrupt individual, history’s greatest liar, and an economic ally of fascist Hasina." Subsequently, Abul Kalam Azad was transferred from the Head Office’s HR Welfare and Service Division to the Chak Mogoltuli branch. He alleged that he was repeatedly transferred for protesting against the MD and other irregularities and corruption in the bank.
It is mentioned the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against Muhammad Munirul Mawla for loan fraud, with evidence of misappropriation of the bank’s funds through fraudulent means. Abul Kalam Azad raised the question: "If service rules apply to everyone, why hasn’t action been taken against those who assisted S Alam in looting thousands of crores of taka?" This situation has created a tense atmosphere within the bank, with resentment brewing among employees.
A responsible official of the bank stated that the ACC has filed a case against 58 individuals, including Islami Bank’s former Chairman and prominent businessman Mohammad Saiful Alam (alias S Alam), MD and CEO Munirul Mawla, and others, for misappropriating 1,092 crore 46 lakh taka through fraudulent loans. The case was filed by ACC Deputy Director Yasmin Arafat at the Chattogram Integrated District Office-1. The case document alleges that the accused, in collusion, misappropriated this amount under the name of Murad Enterprise through fraud.
The accused include S Alam’s son, former Islami Bank Chairman Ahsanul Alam, former Director and EC Committee Chairman Mohammad Selim Uddin, former Vice Chairman Tanvir Ahmed, former Directors Md. Fasiul Alam, Kazi Shahidul Alam, Md. Sirajul Karim, Jamal Mustafa Chowdhury, Md. Joynal Abedin, Khurshid Ul Alam, former Independent Directors Mohammad Saleh Zahur and Mohammad Solaiman, Director Md. Kamrul Hasan, and former Nominee Director Syed Abu Asad.
Others named in the case include Managing Director Mohammad Munirul Mawla, former Additional Managing Directors Muhammad Kaiser Ali and KQM Habibullah, former DMD and Chief Human Resource Officer Md. Mostafizur Rahman Siddiqui, Miftah Uddin, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Sabbir, former Deputy Managing Director Kazi Md. Rezaul Karim, current Deputy Managing Director Rafiqul Islam, former SEVP and AMD Md. Altaf Hossain, SEVPs GM Muhammad Gias Uddin Quader, Abu Sayeed Muhammad Idris, former SEVP Mohammad Ullah, Investment Administration Division Head and EVP Md. Farid Uddin, Cox’s Bazar Branch Manager Aman Ullah, former Chattogram Chaktai Branch Manager and current FAVP Mohammad Ali Azgar, former Chaktai Branch Investment In-Charge Khaja Mohammad Khaled, Chaktai Branch Head and AVP Md. Manjur Hasan, Islami Bank Chattogram South Zone Head Mohammad Yakub Ali, and another South Zone Head and SEVP Mia Mohammad Barkat Ullah.
Prior to this, Omar Faruk Khan served as the Managing Director (Acting) of NRB Bank Limited. He completed his postgraduate studies in Sociology from the University of Dhaka and joined Islami Bank in 1986. Over 37 years, he successfully held various key positions, including Additional Managing Director. He is an Associate of the Institute of Bankers Bangladesh and a Certified Documentary Credit Specialist (CDCS) from the International Chamber of Commerce.
He has participated in numerous seminars and training programs on credit management and banking in Thailand, India, Malaysia, Switzerland, and Dubai.
