Salman F Rahman is a notable figure in Bangladesh's business community as the vice chairman of Beximco Group and a former private investment adviser to the Awami government, a position that afforded him considerable influence.
Over the course of 15 years, he secured loans totalling Tk41,769 crores from seven government and private banks, aided by various ministers and bank officials.
Notably, he employed the names of 17 established companies under the Beximco umbrella, as well as numerous other entities, to obtain these loans.
Despite profiting from these ventures, he has been irregular in repaying the loans, leading to the default of all his outstanding debts.
Officially, there is no verifiable data regarding the exact amount of his loans.
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However, informal sources indicate that four of the seven banks from which he borrowed are state-owned, accounting for more than half of the total borrowed amount.
Specifically, he obtained Tk23,000 crores from Janata Bank, Tk1,830 crores from Sonali Bank, Tk1,409 crores from Agrani Bank, and Tk965 crores from Rupali Bank.
The remaining three private banks include National Bank, where he borrowed Tk2,952 crores, IFIC Bank with a staggering Tk11,000 crores, and AB Bank, from which he secured Tk605 crores.
Additionally, it has been noted that he has also taken loans from private entities such as Prime Bank, Shahjalal Islami Bank, and Southeast Bank, although the amounts involved remain undisclosed.
Efforts to contact officials at the central bank regarding these matters have gone unanswered.
A central bank official, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed, “The loan of Tk23,000 crores from Janata Bank has left the institution struggling with liquidity issues, which has hindered customer services. The single borrower loan limit was not adhered to in this case.”
Despite owning 17 established companies within the Beximco Group, Salman F Rahman has utilised these and other names, both real and fake, to acquire loans. The public has begun to voice concerns regarding his excessive borrowing and failure to repay, particularly following media revelations.
However, regulatory bodies, along with banks and financial institutions, have remained conspicuously silent on the matter, allowing Rahman to operate largely unimpeded.
In 2010, he reportedly seized control of IFIC Bank, after which the amount he borrowed under various company names reached nearly Tk11,000 crores.
The debts owed by Beximco Limited, Beximco Pharmaceuticals, and Beximco Communications to Agrani Bank totalled Tk1,409 crores.
Additionally, Bloom Success International Limited, linked to Beximco, owes Tk836 crores to National Bank. The total loans from National Bank, inclusive of Beximco Group's liabilities, amount to Tk823 crores, while Beximco LPG has outstanding debts of Tk1,293 crores.
Furthermore, AB Bank has recorded loans of 600 crores associated with the Beximco Group.
It is noteworthy that following the fall of the Awami League government amid a popular uprising on 5 August, many leaders of the party have sought to evade scrutiny.
However, Salman F Rahman remained, only to be arrested by law enforcement on 13 August, after which he has been subjected to successive remands in custody.
