Private commercial Union Bank’s Managing Director (MD), ABM Mokammel Hoque Chowdhury, has mysteriously disappeared after sending his family members to safety.
On Monday (7 October) afternoon, his wife Nazneen Akhtar and their two children left home for the airport. The next evening, the much-discussed banker quietly left his residence in Banani, alone. Bank directors now consider him missing, though two luxury cars remain at his home.
Chowdhury has not been seen since Tuesday evening and did not report to work on Wednesday. After informing Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, the Union Bank board appointed Deputy Managing Director (DMD) Shafiuddin Ahmed as acting MD later that night.
Information gathered from his residence and the bank suggests his disappearance was sudden. He resided in a 2,600-square-foot flat within walking distance of Banani Police Station. He used a Toyota Prado while his family owned a Mitsubishi Outlander.
According to building security, Mokammel Hoque rarely had visitors apart from his in-laws. His wife and children left for the airport on Monday, and their Outlander dropped them off, after which their domestic workers were sent on leave.
Following the fall of the Awami League government, Bangladesh Bank initiated reforms in the banking sector, dissolving Union Bank's board on August 27 due to S Alam Group's controversial control. Despite the changes, new board members claimed S Alam still held sway over the bank, and that Chowdhury obstructed their access to accurate financial information.
Mokammel Hoque Chowdhury was last seen at the bank on Tuesday, shortly before being visited by individuals identifying themselves as intelligence agents. His building staff said, “On Tuesday evening, Chowdhury returned home in his Prado but left again at 6:45 pm without informing his driver. Since then, both drivers have been unable to locate him.”
The building's manager, Masum Billah, said that neither Chowdhury nor his family had informed anyone of their departure.
Since Wednesday morning, Chowdhury's phone has remained switched off.
Before the last parliamentary election, media outlets reported on unexplained withdrawals from Union Bank and the full withdrawal of Mokammel Hoque Chowdhury’s funds.
bd-pratidin/GR
