Al-Arafah Islami Bank PLC has stated that it had no involvement in the resignation of four of its independent directors, clarifying the issue in response to a query from the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE).
The CSE had sought an explanation from the bank on September 14 following reports of the resignations. The clarification was later published on the CSE website on Monday.
In its response, the bank said the resignations were linked to the tenure expiry or withdrawal of independent directors appointed by the Bangladesh Bank, and not due to any internal decision or intervention by the bank itself.
According to the statement, earlier media reports on the issue were related to directives issued by the central bank. Under those directives, Bangladesh Bank had dissolved the bank’s previous board and appointed five independent directors. Of them, four have since stepped down.
The resigning directors include former Bangladesh Bank Executive Director Md. Shaheen Ul Islam, former Deputy Managing Director of NRB Bank Md. Abdul Wadud, chartered accountant Mohammad Ashraful Hasan, and Dhaka University professor M. Abu Yusuf.
The bank reiterated that it had no role in the matter and continues to comply with all decisions and instructions issued by Bangladesh Bank and other regulatory authorities.
