Editorial
New bank loans for Hall-Mark units?
Swindlers of public money should be brought to book
FINANCE minister, A M A Muhith has taken the financial circles by surprise. He expressed a government intent to bank roll operations of the Hall-Mark units. His argument appears to be that if the factories of the much-discredited company are helped to run well, some of the lost public money can be restored and refunded to the Sonali bank depositors.
The government's decision is as strange as it is morally indefensible. It may also cast a shadow over the legal proceedings supposed to have been drawn against the embezzlers. As a matter fact, neither Taka 2,600 crore defalcated from Sonali Bank through submission of forged documents has been recovered, nor the swindlers of public money have faced the full force of law.
Little wonder, therefore, financial experts have reacted sharply to the prospective rescheduling of the embezzled money as well as extending new loans to the Hall- Mark group. What is patently unacceptable is the failure of the government to hold the architects and abettors of the Hall-Mark scandal to account. Understandably, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is now probing cases in this connection while the owners of the company are behind bars.
Following their arrest last year, owners of the company had been trying to reach a compromise with the government, according to a finance ministry source. Thus anticipating some behind the scenes moves, Bangladesh Bank sent its findings to the ACC for action. That is alright but what is the outcome of the efforts by the central bank and the ACC thus far. Their laid-back attitude together with the finance ministry apparently taking the bait of the Hall-Mark group for a 'compromise' dilutes the purpose for punishing the embezzlers.
In the end, we would like to be enlightened about the legal status on the Hall-Mark cases because of the imperative need to restore public confidence in the state-owned banking sector.
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