AB Bank, the first private sector bank in Bangladesh, has been found to have approved Tk 350 crore in loans to Brandshare Trading Ltd, a shell company, in violation of banking rules and regulations, according to an investigation conducted by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU). The probe discovered that AB Bank’s manager and other officials at the Gulshan branch assisted Brandshare in obtaining the significant amount by submitting a fake audit report along with the loan applications. The BFIU inspection report, states that the loans were approved through corrupt practices and forgery, involving the collaboration of AB Bank’s executive management, Board of Directors, and the Managing Director (MD) and CEO of Infratech Construction Company Ltd.
The report further reveals that Brandshare Trading, registered under the names , is merely a shell company existing only on paper. The BFIU inspection team found no connection between Brandshare and CEO of Infratech although the shell company is purportedly located within Infratech Construction’s rented office space. All loan-related activities were carried out solely by CEO of Infratech, indicating his direct involvement. The BFIU instructed AB Bank’s MD to provide an explanation and ordered the suspension of loan disbursements to the shell company.