Desk Report:
Shocking information has surfaced regarding the recruitment of 8,542 individuals at Islami Bank without following established hiring procedures. These recruitments took place between 2017 and August 2024. A significant portion of the total 10,832 people hired during this period were recruited through this irregular process.
No recruitment notices were published in national daily newspapers, nor were any written examinations conducted for these appointments. A large number of the recruits hailed from Chattogram—specifically from Patiya, the birthplace of Saiful Alam, alias S. Alam.
A recent inspection by Bangladesh Bank revealed these irregularities in Islami Bank’s recruitment process during that period. The inspection report has already been submitted to the Governor of the central bank.
According to Bangladesh Bank data, the total workforce at Islami Bank stood at 21,551 as of August 31, 2024. Of these, 10,832 individuals were recruited between 2017 and August 31, 2024—a period when the bank was under the control of S. Alam. Among the recruits, 466 joined via lateral entry, while 10,336 were appointed at the entry level.
Islami Bank’s standard recruitment policy mandated the publication of job notices in at least two national dailies. Candidates were typically given a minimum of 15 days to apply, followed by written and oral examinations. Securing at least 50 percent marks in both exams was considered the minimum qualification for appointment.
However, this process was bypassed following the change in the bank’s ownership and control in 2017. During that time, 8,542 people were recruited without any job notices being published in national newspapers.
The Bangladesh Bank report states that Islami Bank’s human resources policy was amended at the time to legitimize this recruitment process. A new provision was added to Clause 7.04 of the policy, stating that in cases of “urgent need,” the Managing Director and CEO could recruit personnel at entry-level and lateral-entry grades based on manpower requirements. Provisions were made to relax certain formalities in such instances.
However, the central bank’s report notes that this amendment effectively disregarded Clause 7.01 of the original recruitment regulations. That provision stipulates that recruitment across various grades requires the publication of notices in at least two national dailies and allowing candidates a minimum of 15 days to apply.
According to Bangladesh Bank’s observations, while limited lateral entry or specialized technical recruitment is usually permitted to maintain operations during emergencies, Islami Bank utilized this provision to recruit over 6,000 employees at the entry (probationary) level—an unusual practice.
Furthermore, there was no evidence of a significant manpower shortage at the bank during that period. In fact, statements from officials active at the time suggest that the massive number of employees recruited without public notices far exceeded the bank’s actual requirements.
Bangladesh Bank’s inspection revealed that among the employees recruited during S. Alam’s tenure, 8,099 were from the Chattogram division. Of these, 5,148 were residents of Patiya. Since Patiya is S. Alam’s birthplace, the nature of these recruitments has raised questions.
The report notes that the failure to publish recruitment notices limited opportunities for candidates from other regions of the country to apply or compete. Consequently, the disproportionate recruitment of candidates from Chattogram created a “concentration risk” for the bank. The report also highlights that qualified candidates from other parts of the country were deprived of employment opportunities.
The inspection uncovered that a distinct procedure—bypassing standard notices and written examinations—was employed for these recruitments.
Islami Bank authorities informed Bangladesh Bank that various boxes were placed at the S. Alam Group Chairman’s residence in Patiya and the group’s Asadganj office in Chattogram to collect resumes from a large number of candidates. These boxes bore labels such as “Patiya General,” “Patiya Cash,” “Male General-Satkania-Lohagara,” “Male Cash-Gondamara-Banshkhali,” “Female-Cash,” “Women,” and “Diploma.”
Resumes collected in these boxes were subsequently forwarded to the bank’s head office for selected candidates. Bank authorities stated that appointment letters were then issued directly from the head office.
Bangladesh Bank found evidence that recruitment regulations were violated during the hiring process for the 24th batch of Probationary Officers at Islami Bank. No recruitment notice was issued for this batch.
In early 2019, a list of 840 candidates from Chattogram was sent to the bank’s head office. Subsequently, the Department of Banking and Insurance at the University of Dhaka was entrusted with conducting the written examination. A total of 763 candidates participated in the test.
According to the bank’s regulations, the pass mark was set at 50 percent; however, only 36 candidates achieved this score. The pass mark was then lowered to 20 percent, resulting in 552 candidates being called for the oral examination. Of these, 304 candidates passed the oral test.
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Out of the 190 individuals selected for employment at Islami Bank, 184 eventually joined the service.
A Bangladesh Bank inspection revealed that recruitment rules were violated for several other positions between 2017 and 2024.
During this period, 2,232 Trainee Assistant Officers (General) were recruited without any newspaper advertisements being published. Similarly, 2,828 Trainee Assistant Officers (Cash) and 501 Trainee Junior Officers were appointed without any public notice.
Allegations of similar irregularities exist regarding lateral entries as well. Between 2017 and 2024, 466 individuals were recruited through this process; notably, 264 of them were candidates from the Chattogram district.
During the inspection, written statements were obtained from ten officials stationed in Dhaka who had been recruited during that period, in order to gather details about the hiring process.
All of them stated that they were hired solely through a viva voce (oral interview) without undergoing any written examination after submitting their CVs. Two of them even mentioned in their written statements that they had not faced any oral interview at all.
Several officials reported submitting their CVs in drop-boxes located at the S. Alam Group Chairman’s residences in the Sugandha Residential Area and Panchlaish, as well as at the group’s Asadganj office in Chattogram. They stated that their oral interviews were conducted at these locations, and they subsequently received their appointment letters.
Evidence of non-compliance with recruitment policies was found not only in the hiring of general staff but also in the promotion of high-ranking officials.
According to Islami Bank’s regulations, an official must possess at least two years of experience in their immediately preceding role to be appointed as a Deputy Managing Director (DMD). Additionally, there is a requirement for a total of 20 years of professional experience prior to the appointment.
However, after S. Alam took control of Islami Bank, his Personal Assistant (PA), Akij Uddin, was promoted to the position of DMD with only eight years of banking experience. Although the policy mandates two years of experience in the prior role before becoming a DMD, he had only one year and four months of such experience.
Meanwhile, DMD Miftah Uddin had a total of 17 years of experience, falling short of the policy’s 20-year requirement. Furthermore, despite the rule requiring two years of experience in the preceding role, he had only one year of such experience. A Bangladesh Bank inspection report indicates that policy changes implemented at Islami Bank after 2017 appear to have been introduced, amended, or modified with the aim of granting undue advantages to a specific group. Furthermore, mandatory requirements—such as participating in written and oral examinations and securing a minimum score of 50 percent—were frequently disregarded.
Arif Hossain Khan, spokesperson for the central bank, stated that Bangladesh Bank is not directly involved in the internal recruitment processes of banks; this is a matter for the respective bank to handle. However, as the regulator of the banking sector, Bangladesh Bank does intervene when necessary. If irregularities are detected following a review of the investigation report, appropriate measures and directives will be issued.
The Board of Directors of Islami Bank commissioned four audit firms to conduct a special audit into irregularities occurring between 2016 and August 31, 2024. That audit also revealed irregularities in the recruitment process during the tenure of the S. Alam Group.
Based on reports from both Bangladesh Bank and external auditors, the bank authorities decided to conduct a special competency assessment test for officers recruited between 2017 and August 5, 2024.
Two employees filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking to halt the examination. The matter was subsequently resolved, with the central bank confirming there were no legal impediments to holding the test.
Following this, Islami Bank authorities organized the special competency assessment test on September 27, 2025, in collaboration with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of the University of Dhaka.
According to the bank’s data, only 402 out of a total of 5,373 officers participated in the examination. All participants passed the test and retained their positions.
Conversely, 4,972 officers refused to take the test, opposing the decision to hold it. The bank alleged that some of these officers physically harassed, intimidated, and threatened colleagues who were willing to participate. Additionally, allegations were raised regarding the dissemination of misleading information about the bank—through work stoppages, road protests, human chains, and press conferences—as well as the tarnishing of the bank’s image on social media.
The bank authorities deemed these actions violations of discipline and policy. Acting on the advice of the Board of Directors, a decision was made to take disciplinary action against the concerned employees. Subsequently, in accordance with human resources policies, 4,685 individuals were relieved of their duties after being paid three months’ salary.
Islami Bank’s Acting Managing Director, Altaf Hossain, stated that the employees were not dismissed solely on the grounds of whether their initial appointments were valid or invalid. He explained that the mandatory formalities stipulated by service rules had not been followed during the recruitment process.
According to him, an examination was arranged to provide them with an opportunity to regularize their appointments. However, they did not participate in the exam and also obstructed others from doing so. Consequently, their appointments were cancelled for challenging the bank’s decision. He added that Bangladesh Bank also viewed the matter as an internal decision of the institution.
