Kamrul Hasan Azad, former additional director of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, has sent a rejoinder to a Daily Waadaa report headlined “Bangladesh Bank unable to account for 11.81 crore taka in cash withdrawals”, published on November 4, 2026.
His rejoinder is published below in full:
My attention has been drawn to the investigative report published in Daily Waadaa on November 4, 2026, headlined “Bangladesh Bank unable to account for 11.81 crore taka in cash withdrawals,” authored by Takie Mohammad Jubayer.
The report contains gross factual errors, fabricated figures and unsubstantiated insinuations that unjustly malign my personal and professional integrity as a public servant. To set the record straight and prevent further public misdirection, I place the following facts on record:
The report alleges that Bangladesh Bank cannot account for 11.81 crore taka from the Credit Guarantee Fund between 2017 and 2019. This claim is fundamentally baseless.
The total fund allocation approved for the pilot project under review was 2.10 crore taka, not 11.81 crore taka. Inflating an official project size more than five-fold reflects either an egregious failure of due diligence or a deliberate attempt to manufacture a financial scandal.
The report falsely asserts that 1.66 crore taka was withdrawn in physical cash on December 28, 2017, held outside the banking system and later deposited elsewhere. It further claims that 10.15 crore taka was siphoned through 24 unrecorded cheques.
The actual banking records contradict this narrative entirely.
No physical cash was ever withdrawn. The entire transaction of 1.66 crore taka was executed through a standard, traceable banking instrument, specifically a pay order issued by Janata Bank Ltd.
The pay order was deposited directly into Southeast Bank Ltd to open a Fixed Deposit Receipt, or FDR, on behalf of the project fund.
Due to intervening bank clearing holidays, Southeast Bank credited the proceeds through normal inter-bank clearing cycles immediately upon the resumption of operations.
A standard clearing delay over a banking weekend was wilfully distorted into an “incomprehensible cash withdrawal” to fabricate an illusion of interrupted banking trails.
The initiative in question was an officially sanctioned pilot project of the Credit Guarantee Department with an aggregate fund size of 2.10 crore taka, comprising approximately 1.66 crore taka as seed capital and the balance allocated for operational expenditures such as field evaluations and meetings.
All financial decisions were approved through multi-tier institutional governance comprising senior officials of Bangladesh Bank and the development partner. No individual officer had unilateral financial authority.
Furthermore, following official protocol, I was formally transferred from the SME & Special Programmes Department in August 2019 after completing an exhaustive, documented handover of all files and responsibilities.
Raising baseless insinuations regarding “missing records” more than seven years after a formal departmental handover constitutes targeted harassment.
The report published my official photograph without context or authorisation, solely to visually dramatise an unsubstantiated story and prejudice public opinion against me.
Waadaa initially obtained a Bangladesh Bank document in which some of the figures were unclear, resulting in a numerical error in the report. However, the underlying irregularities raised in the story were genuine.
Following publication, Bangladesh Bank’s Human Resources Department on November 8 stand-released Kamrul Hasan Azad, along with four other officials of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, and posted him to the Legal Department.
Even before publication, when Waadaa sought Bangladesh Bank’s explanation regarding the allegations involving Azad, the central bank moved quickly to initiate departmental action. The spokesperson’s office informed Waadaa in writing that “they [CGD] initiated a note to higher authority.”
The figures cited in the report had also been included in questions sent before publication to Azad, Anwar Talukder and Bangladesh Bank’s spokesperson’s office. None of them challenged those figures at the time.
In his rejoinder, Azad described the allegation of cash withdrawal as false. However, Bangladesh Bank’s letter dated July 23, 2025, states explicitly:
“Instead of transferring the money from the Janata Bank PLC account through fund transfer/pay order, cash was withdrawn and the FDR was opened, which is incomprehensible. No information was found in the department’s records explaining why the FDR was opened through such a transaction.”
Azad also claimed that he had handed over all records when he transferred out of the department. But Bangladesh Bank’s July 23, 2025, letter states:
“No noting relating to the purpose and use of the cash withdrawals, expenditure vouchers, used cheque-book counterfoils, unused cheque leaves or similar records were found in the department’s files.”
In a second letter sent to Azad, Bangladesh Bank further stated:
“Upon reviewing your reply dated July 27, 2025, the information sought was not properly provided. Rather than being cooperative, the matter is, in effect, obstructing the accounting process undertaken. In addition, as the unused cheques issued against the account are not in our custody, complications have arisen in operating the account. The matter is also risky.”
Azad also alleged in his rejoinder that his photograph had been used in the report without his permission. In fact, no photograph of any individual was used in the report.
The allegations involving Azad are also not limited to this case. According to media reports, during his tenure at BFIU, Azad faced allegations that he built an influential group around favoured financial intelligence officers and sought to influence BFIU decisions.
He was also accused of holding back investigation reports that, under normal procedure, were expected to be forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Department and the Anti-Corruption Commission for further action.
Waadaa has also obtained records indicating Azad’s role in the episode in which Bangladesh lost an unprecedented opportunity to recover $25 million frozen in the United Kingdom.
His influence within BFIU had grown to such an extent that, despite serving as head of the Analysis Wing, he travelled to Vienna, Austria, from November 2 to 5 to attend several programmes, including one on asset recovery.
On November 8, Bangladesh Bank stand-released Azad along with several officials associated with the same syndicate.
Azad is also an executive member of the Bangladesh Bank central committee of Zia Parishad. At the same time, questions have been raised over his role during the July 2024 uprising.
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