The controversy over Nepal Bangladesh Bank’s land purchase has resurfaced. Some of the bank’s board members are indignant after the Chief Executive Officer secretly wrote back on the matter to Nepal Rastra Bank. 

Apparently, CEO Gyanendra Prasad Dhungana had on June 21 sent a reply to NRB without informing the Board of Directors. In its earlier letter, NRB had asked for an explanation on the irregularities in the purchase of seven ropanis and nine annas (approx. 0.95 acres) of land for the construction of the bank’s central office in the residential area of ​​Bishal Nagar.

The letter states that the Nepal Bangladesh Bank Directors Sarwar Hussain and Deepak Karki, who were in the committee formed for the land purchase, failed to complete due process. The committee is accused of pricing the Bishal Nagar property, whose value is no more than Rs 3 million an anna, at Rs 7.8 million an anna, which comes to Rs 600 million more in payment. 

The central bank’s Department of Banks and Financial Institutions Supervision had asked those alleged to be present at the department within three days of receiving the letter with an explanation. 

In response, CEO Dhungana sent a ‘secret’ reply, angering the bank’s investors. An investor named Yogeshwor Mali had filed a report with both the NRB and the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) in April 2019 alleging gross irregularities. The complaint also mentions that it would be against the NRB directive to purchase properties amounting to more than 25 percent of total capital. According to the bank’s promoters, CEO Dhungana has sent arbitrary answers to NRB’s questions. An independent promoter even alleges that CEO Dhungana and NRB of being in cahoots.

Separately, the NBB is also witnessing the exit of its foreign partner IFIC Bank Limited, the Bangladesh-based bank, as the latter is planning to sell 40.09 percent of its share investment in the joint-venture.