The Bangladesh Bank yesterday removed SM Shamsul Arefin from the post of managing director of Uttara Finance and Investments Ltd (UFIL) for his alleged involvement in financial irregularities.

The central bank sent a letter to the board of the non-bank financial institution to this effect, saying Arefin was involved in financial anomalies, adversely impacting the interest of depositors.

Rahman Rahman Huq, a chartered accountant firm, recently carried out a special audit into the irregularities committed by Arefin and the allegations were found to be proved.

The central bank also ordered the NBFI to take legal actions against Arefin for the irregularities unearthed by the audit firm.

Contacted, Arefin said he knew nothing about his removal from the post of the managing director.

Both the audit firm and the central bank conducted investigations in recent times and Uttara Finance complied with all instructions given by the BB, he said.

The central bank carried out a special inspection on the NBFI during the period of October-November in 2020.

Irregularities in the disbursement of loans and collection of deposits involving Tk 5,100 crore were committed by the board and management of UFIL, the probe found.

Arefin was found to be involved in siphoning off funds and eroding the interest of depositors and other stakeholders of the financial institution, the BB probe report said.

He took Tk 24.22 crore from UFIL without approval from the board. The amount was not even stated in the NBFI's financial statement and he does not have any loan account with the lender.

At that time, Arefin had told the BB inspection team that he had taken the funds for his son's treatment and returned a good amount from time to time.