Union Bank MD 'missing': Chairman informs central bank
The central bank suggested Union Bank to file a general diary
Union Bank has informed the Bangladesh Bank that its Managing Director ABM Mokammel Haque Chowdhury went "missing".
The central bank has instructed the bank to file a general diary and appoint an acting MD in the meantime after Union Bank Chairman Md Fariduddin Ahmed informed the regulator about the issue.
The MD's absence from the bank and his home prompted concerns, leading the Union Bank chairman to inform the Bangladesh Bank governor.
A meeting was held between the governor and Union Bank's Board of Directors today (9 October). The absence of the bank's chairman at the meeting sparked discussion, according to officials present at the meeting.
The central bank officials said the Union Bank directors have been asked to actively protect depositors' interests, while the directors expressed uncertainty about the bank's financial condition.
Union Bank was previously owned by the controversial S Alam Group. The central bank has revealed that the bank's debt accounts for 64% of the total debt of Tk18,000 crore.
Earlier in the day, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) directed all banks to freeze accounts of the Union Bank MD Mokammel and his wife Naznin Akter, as well as the accounts of their companies, for 30 days.