The treasury heads of ten banks have made an appeal to the Bangladesh Bank, requesting the waiver of fines imposed on them for their alleged involvement in the manipulation of the US dollar exchange rate.
This appeal was conveyed through separate letters sent to the central bank recently, as reported by a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank to the media, who wished to remain anonymous.
The fines had been imposed by the central bank in accordance with Section 109 (7) of the Bank Company Act 1991, as explained by Md Mezbaul Haque, Executive Director and Spokesperson of the Bangladesh Bank, in a statement to the media.
The matter is slated for discussion in the upcoming board meeting of the Bangladesh Bank, where a decision will be reached regarding the appeal.
A treasury head from a private commercial bank expressed their anticipation of a positive response from the central bank in this matter.
Prior to this appeal, treasury heads of Social Islami Bank, Al-Arafah Islami, Mercantile, Modhumoti, Midland, Brac, Exim, Premier, Shahjalal Islami, and Trust had each been fined Taka 1 lakh on 28th September due to their alleged involvement in manipulating the US dollar exchange rate.
The central bank officials had expressed dissatisfaction with their explanations regarding the manipulation, which led to the imposition of fines under Section 109 (7) of the Bank Company Act 1991.
On 18th September, the banking regulator had instructed the managing directors of these ten banks to provide explanations as to why their treasury heads should not be penalised for their involvement in dollar rate manipulation during the year.
It may be mentioned here that industries in Bangladesh have been facing hardships following dollar scarcity in the country.
