Two deputy governors of Bangladesh Bank resign after Sheikh Hasina's exit

Dhaka: Days after the resignation of the Bangladesh Bank governor, two deputy governors and the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (BFUI) have resigned following the directives from the interim government, a media report said on Monday.

Additionally, an adviser to the central bank has also submitted his resignation to the governor, The Dhaka Tribune newspaper reported.

On Friday, Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder tendered his resignation, citing personal reasons. His resignation was part of a broader wave of departures from various institutions of the country following the recent fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.

It was reported that the Ministry of Finance informed them on Sunday that they must submit their resignation letters by 1 pm on Monday, the report said.

Following this directive, deputy governors Kazi Saidur Rahman and Md Khurshid Alam submitted their resignation letters in the morning.

Masud Biswas, the head of the BFIU, the government agency responsible for investigating money laundering and suspicious transactions, also submitted his resignation to the secretary.

Similarly, Bangladesh Bank's adviser, Abu Farah Md Nasser, submitted his resignation to the governor.

After the ouster of Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5 following widespread protests over a controversial quota system in jobs, a group of agitated officials and employees demanded the resignation of the central bank’s governor, four deputy governors and the head of the BFUI during a protest march last week.

At one point, the protesters entered the governor’s floor in the central bank’s main building and forced one of the deputy governors to sign on a blank sheet of paper, the newspaper reported. The others were forced to leave.

Since then, they have not returned to the bank. On Monday, they officially submitted their resignation letters to the government, the report said.

The protesting officials claimed that these top officials of Bangladesh Bank were responsible for irregularities and corruption in the banking sector.

Last Thursday, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the head of an interim government replacing Hasina. A 16-member council of advisers was announced to assist Yunus in running the state's affairs.