The interim government, led by the Chief Adviser, plans to recover Tk 874 crore in climate funds, including principal and interest, withheld by Padma Bank. Formerly Farmers Bank, Padma Bank has not paid interest on the fixed deposit receipts (FDRs) opened by the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust since 2015. The Trust had initially deposited Tk 508 crore, of which only Tk 80 crore has been returned. The bank’s liquidity crisis, caused by financial irregularities, has left significant government deposits unrecovered. Other institutions, including the Chittagong Port Authority, Bangladesh Jiban Bima Corporation, Titus Gas, and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, have also been unable to recover funds, with deposits ranging from Tk 25 crore to Tk 179 crore stuck in the bank. Padma Bank has proposed phased repayments over several years. The bank, which misappropriated over Tk 3,500 crore between 2013 and 2017, was partially revived by state-owned banks in 2018 through a Tk 715 crore investment, but these banks have not received dividends due to continued financial losses. The government is now considering how to reclaim these funds.
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