It happened in just two days. A company that existed only on paper walked away with Tk 950 crore from Islami Bank Bangladesh.

The company, Market Master Analyzer Ltd, managed to secure the disbursement of Tk 450 crore on August 10, 2022, and Tk 500 crore the following day, according to documents reviewed by The Daily Star.

The bank's Gulshan-1 branch disbursed the funds by blatantly ignoring fundamental banking regulations. The total outstanding loan amount has now grown to Tk 1,054 crore.

Market Master Analyzer secured this massive loan just a month after it was registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) on July 6, 2022, and despite having an authorised capital of only Tk 5 crore.

The company's address was Banani, Dhaka on RJSC records. However, when this journalist visited the location, no such company was found—only an office of Nabil Group was located nearby.

Market Master Analyzer is owned by two individuals: Chairman Md Shariful Islam and Managing Director Md Sha Alam.

An investigation revealed that Shariful is a close relative of Md Aminul Islam, the founder and managing director of Nabil Group.

Sha Alam works as a junior officer at Nabil Group's Rajshahi office. When approached, he refused to provide any details about the company's operations or how it had managed to secure such a large loan.

Aminul denied any connection with Market Master Analyzer, saying if any of Nabil Group's 13,000 employees or one of his relatives takes a loan, it is not his responsibility. He asked the reporter to speak to the bank about the matter.

BANK OFFICIALS' ROLES

Islami Bank has become a glaring example of how a once-reputed financial institution was systematically exploited by influential groups.

A recent central bank inspection report reveals that S Alam Group and its close business associate, Nabil Group, took out a staggering 87 percent of the total loans from Islami Bank.

Most of these funds were allegedly siphoned through more than 100 shadow companies.

Central bank officials said if proper due diligence had been conducted, Market Master Analyzer would never have qualified for such a loan.

Mohammad Mozahidul Islam, the executive vice president of Islami Bank, was heading the Gulshan-1 branch when the loans were disbursed. He has since been transferred to the Foreign Exchange Corporate Branch in Dilkusha.

When contacted, he said he had just followed the bank management's instructions and declined to comment further.

Three senior Islami Bank officials agreed to speak to The Daily Star on the condition of anonymity. They said Islami Bank's managing director, Mohammed Monirul Moula, personally instructed the branch manager over the phone to approve the loan immediately. As a result, the loan was processed hastily, bypassing standard verification procedures.

The Daily Star attempted to contact Monirul multiple times via phone and WhatsApp messages, but he did not respond.

This correspondent also visited Islami Bank's head office in Motijheel several times over the past month to meet Monirul but was unsuccessful.

Nazrul Islam, head of brand and communication at Islami Bank, was asked to facilitate an appointment with the managing director for comment. The spokesman said the managing director had not met with the media since the political changeover in August last year.

Monirul was among 58 people prosecuted by the Anti-Corruption Commission in December last year for allegedly embezzling Tk 1,092 crore through fraudulent loan schemes.

The other accused included former Islami Bank chairman Ahsanul Alam and members of the S Alam family.

Meanwhile, Nabil Group is among 10 leading business groups under investigation by a joint task force.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit has frozen the bank accounts of Nabil Group's Aminul and his family members as part of the investigation.