How one clause in Islami Bank's HR policy allowed hiring of thousands without open competition

Thousands of officers were recruited to Islami Bank
Bangladesh during the seven years S Alam Group controlled it – without national
newspaper advertisements, written tests, or, in many cases, even oral
interviews – under the Awami League regime.
From 2017, when S Alam took control
of the bank, until August 2024, a total of 10,832 officers were recruited,
according to reports by Bangladesh Bank and four audit firms. Of them, 8,542
were appointed without any advertisement in national dailies.
The bank's recruitment policy was
amended to legitimise the process.
Policy clause that opened floodgates
Audit reports say the bank amended
its human resources policy to legitimise the recruitment process. Clause 7.04
of the policy stated, "In case of exigency, the Managing Director &
CEO of the Bank may appoint manpower…relaxing the above recruitment
formalities."
Using this clause, regular
recruitment practices – such as public advertisements, written tests, and
competitive selection – were largely ignored.
Instead, an informal system was
introduced to collect CVs.
Boxes labelled "General," "Cash," "Male,"
"Female," "Diploma," and other categories were reportedly
placed at the group chairman's residence in Patiya and an office in Asadganj,
Chattogram.
Applicants submitted CVs into these
boxes, from where selected applications were sent to the bank's head office.
Appointment letters were then
issued directly according to prepared lists, without open competition.
Audit sources described the system
as a "closed recruitment loop," making participation by outside
candidates virtually impossible.
















