TDS Desk:

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against Saima Wazed (Putul), daughter of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, on allegations of embezzling around Tk 330 million from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds of 20 private banks using the Shuchona Foundation.

According to ACC sources, former Exim Bank chairman and Bangladesh Association of Banks (BAB) chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder facilitated the fund transfers. The BAB had issued a letter to the banks asking them to contribute to the Shuchona Foundation under their CSR activities.

The graft monitoring agency gathered information of the 20 banks that provided funds to the Shuchona Foundation. ACC sources noted that the Shuchona Foundation used to take money from the banks’ CSR fund forcefully.

On 20 March, ACC deputy director Tahasin Munabil Haque filed the case at the commission’s integrated district office-1 in Dhaka, accusing Saima Wazed of misappropriation and embezzlement.

ACC deputy director Akhtar Hossain confirmed the development  saying the Shuchona Foundation took more than Tk 330 million from 20 banks, exercising its power. Its chairman Saima Wazed has been sued for misappropriating and embezzling CSR funds. Nazrul Islam Mazumder has also been accused in the case.

This Correspondent spoke to multiple top officials of the banks. On condition of anonymity, a bank’s vice president said they were pressured to release the funds as the BAB chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder issued a letter in this regard.

As per Bangladesh Bank guidelines, CSR funds are to be distributed with specific allocations – 30 per cent for education, 30 per cent for healthcare, and 20 per cent for disaster management and climate change adaptation. These funds were diverted to the Shuchona Foundation.

Saima Wazed has served as chairperson of Suuchona Foundation for two years since 2014. The foundation was established to support individuals with disabilities. In 2017, she was made the chairperson of the national advisory committee formed to assist in addressing autism and neurodevelopmental disorders in Bangladesh.

Despite the end of her formal term, the Shuchona Foundation remained under the grip of Saima Wazed. Bank officials told the ACC that the foundation began seeking money from CSR funds in 2016.

First Security Islami Bank Limited (FSIBL) and Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) jointly provided nearly Tk 100 million to the foundation, which is the highest among others. Other banks’ contributions ranged between Tk 500,000 to Tk 25 million.

The banks that contributed to Shuchona Foundation include – Union Bank, Prime Bank, Dhaka Bank, AB Bank, BRAC Bank, United Commercial Bank, City Bank, NCC Bank, Jamuna Bank, Southeast Bank, National Bank, Exim Bank, Standard Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, Modhumoti Bank, Global Islami Bank, and NRBC Bank.

ACC sources also revealed that Saima Wazed misrepresented her professional background when applying for the position of regional director for the South-East Asia Region at the World Health Organization (WHO). She falsely claimed to be a faculty member at Bangladesh Medical University (formerly BSMMU).