Years of alleged irregularities, repeated board changes, ACC cases mark troubled NBFI
Uttara Finance and Investments Limited, a listed non-bank financial institution (NBFI), is in deep financial and administrative crisis, with years of alleged irregularities, capital shortfalls, delayed financial reporting and repeated board changes raising questions over its governance.
In August, Bangladesh Bank dissolved the company’s board once again and appointed Mostakur Rahman, a former director of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), as administrator.
The central bank had reconstituted the board in February, but the chairman, managing director and several directors resigned within months, forcing it to intervene again.
Between June 2022 and August this year, the board and top management changed several times. Allegations include nepotism, appointments of favoured individuals to key posts, high salaries and excessive allowances, and rising administrative costs. Disputes between the chairman and managing director over loan and credit approvals reportedly hampered operations. Some long-serving staff were also allegedly dismissed without due process.
The company has yet to prepare annual financial statements for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, leaving investors without a clear picture of its finances. Its last audit was for 2021, in which the auditor found the capital adequacy ratio at negative 5.72 percent, against a regulatory minimum of 10 percent.
An external auditor appointed by Bangladesh Bank reportedly identified about Tk 1,373 crore in unauthorised transactions in the 2020 financial statements, finding that internal procedures, borrower verification and approval rules were not properly followed.
In September, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) decided to file 12 cases over the alleged embezzlement of around Tk 68.80 crore through loans granted without proper documents or collateral, in many cases allegedly without board approval. The allegations include abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and fraud. In December 2025, the ACC had filed a case against a former managing director and two others over alleged embezzlement.
Administrator Mostakur Rahman said the main challenges are finalising accounts, determining the extent of irregularities and recovering funds. “Without audit reports, investors, shareholders and depositors will lose confidence,” he said, adding that the aim is to finalise accounts within six to seven months. He also noted that the company had no core banking software, which work has now begun to install, and that audits would follow.
Former director Mahbub Alam said two boards had been formed since 2022, but apart from updating accounts, “nothing happened” and no business was conducted. He said that if given the chance to return, he would try to restore the company to its former condition.