Islami Bank Bangladesh recruited 8,542 people without recruitment notices or competitive examinations during the period when the bank was under the control of S Alam Group, according to a special inspection report by Bangladesh Bank.
The report said a total of 10,832 people were recruited by the bank between 2017 and August 2024. Of these, 8,542 were appointed without the written and competitive selection process stipulated under the bank’s human resources policy.
The concentration of recruits from particular areas was also highlighted in the inspection. Of the 8,542 people appointed without examinations, 8,099 were from Chattogram district. As many as 5,148 were residents of Patiya upazila alone.
According to the report, boxes were placed at the Patiya residence of the chairman of S Alam Group and at the group’s office in Asadganj, Chattogram, where CVs could be submitted for different positions.
Recruitment process bypassed
Islami Bank’s human resources policy provides for recruitment notices to be issued before eligible candidates sit written and oral examinations. The Bangladesh Bank inspection, however, found that appointments were made to 27 positions without advertisements or competitive examinations.
Among those recruited through such a process were 2,789 trainee assistant officers (cash), 2,160 trainee assistant officers, 1,544 messenger-cum-guards and 915 employees under the RDS project.
The report also identified recruitment irregularities at senior management level. It said two managing directors, eight deputy managing directors, two senior executive vice-presidents and four executive vice-presidents were appointed without recruitment notices.
In some cases, candidates appointed as deputy managing directors did not meet the required experience criteria, according to the inspection findings.
Bangladesh Bank inspectors also interviewed 10 officials selected on a random basis. Several of them reportedly told the inspection team that after CVs were submitted at the Patiya residence and the Asadganj office, oral interviews and other recruitment-related activities took place there.
Recruitment figures by district
The geographical distribution of the appointments showed a particularly strong concentration in Chattogram. After the 8,099 recruits from Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar accounted for 398, Cumilla 114, Mymensingh 99, Bogura 97 and Dhaka 96. The remaining recruits came from various other districts.
The report does not suggest that every appointment during the period followed the same process. It specifically identifies those recruitment exercises in which notices and competitive examinations were not held, while separately noting instances where recruitment procedures were followed.
Questions over probationary officer appointments
The recruitment of probationary officers also came under scrutiny.
According to the Bangladesh Bank report, 190 people were appointed to Islami Bank’s 24th probationary officer batch in 2019 without a recruitment advertisement. Of these, 12 were appointed without sitting the written examination.
A significant portion of those recruited through the process subsequently lost their jobs, according to the report.
The inspection findings also distinguish these appointments from other probationary officer recruitment exercises. The appointments of 144 probationary officers in 2017 and 200 in 2024 were found to have followed the proper recruitment process.
Assessment of employees and subsequent dismissals
Following inspections and audits that identified irregularities in recruitment after 5 August 2024, the Islami Bank board decided to assess the qualifications of employees recruited during the period under review.
An assessment examination was held in 2025. Of those who took part, 402 employees were retained in their positions. Another 4,971 employees did not participate in the assessment.
According to the report, the bank’s management subsequently decided to dismiss 4,685 employees. Islami Bank’s acting managing director, Md Altaf Hossain, said the dismissals were carried out after following the appropriate procedures.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson and executive director Arif Hossain Khan said the recruitment and dismissal of employees were matters for the bank’s own management. He said Islami Bank had taken the decisions itself and that intervention by the central bank would not be appropriate.
The inspection report has therefore brought renewed attention to the recruitment practices followed at Islami Bank during the period under review. It records a substantial number of appointments made without the recruitment notices and examinations required under the bank’s stated human resources procedures, while also documenting the subsequent assessment and employment decisions involving some of those recruits.
