Asadusjaman Shajib 

Despite the fall of the fascist Awami League, Sheikh Hasina's close ally Kibria Golam Mohammad alias GM Kibria,  Organizing Secretary of the All European Awami League and Convener of Conference Preparation Committee of  Italian Awami League, has remained as the Chairman of NRB Islamic Life Insurance.

 Kibria's wife, another ally of the fascist, Hosne Ara Begum, Women's Affairs Secretary of All European Awami League, was made company's Overseas Agency Director on paper has  allegedly misappropriated  a huge amount of money i in the name of the commission. 

His main associate is the controversial CEO of the Company and another Awami League financier Shah Jamal Howlader.

Sources said, they got  the license of this life insurance company during Awami League government  in 2021. After getting the license,  financier Golam Kibria used to withdraw money from NRB Islamic Life in various ways. Due to which, within three years of its establishment, the company has come to the brink of bankruptcy due to various irregularities. The deposits of insurance customers are at risk. The investigation by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has also revealed various irregularities, corruption and embezzlement of money in the company.

However, Shah Jamal Howlader remains the CEO of NRB Islamic Life Insurance, burdened with various corruption and scandals including selling unapproved insurance plans, excessive management costs in violation of the law, high policy expiry rates, embezzlement in the name of cash in hand, massive fund embezzlement by showing single premiums as term insurance, irregularities in asset investment. However, the truth of all the allegations against him has come out in the investigation report of the regulatory authority itself. In these allegations, IDRA has rejected the proposal to re-appoint Shah Jamal Howlader as the company's chief executive officer without approving it. IDRA Director Ahmed Ehsan ul Hannan sent a letter to the company's chairman on June 10, 2024, informing about the decision to reject the proposal for re-appointment.

In the letter from IDRA, it is mentioned that Shah Jamal Howlader has taken the company's financial condition to an 'extremely risky and bankrupt level'. In addition, IDRA has mentioned that he has acted against the interests of the company and customers through financial irregularities and waste, and at the same time, he has misled the authorities by providing false information. 

The letter from IDRA states that Md. Shah Jamal Howlader has conducted activities in violation of the insurance law under the direct management of Shah Jamal Howlader. Which has threatened the interests of the company and insurance customers. However, Shah Jamal Howlader filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the IDRA decision. After hearing the writ, the High Court issued a rule on July 25, 2024, and stayed the IDRA decision for 6 months. At the same time, it ordered that the status quo be maintained for Shah Jamal Howlader's duties as the Chief Executive Officer for 6 months. Later, IDRA filed an application in the Chamber Court seeking a stay on the High Court order. The court rejected the application and ordered a hearing in the High Court bench to settle the matter. However, even after 6 months of the stay order, the matter has not been settled yet.

When asked what legal steps have been taken to settle the matter, IDRA Deputy Director and Spokesperson Md. Solaiman said that IDRA has taken all legal preparations to settle the matter. We hope that it will be heard in court soon. The arguments on which IDRA is rejecting the proposal to re-appoint Shah Jamal Howlader as the Chief Executive Officer will be presented in court.

Analyzing the company's audited financial reports for 2021, 2022 and the unaudited financial report for 2023 sent to IDRA, various corruption cases have emerged against the company, including selling unauthorized insurance plans in violation of the law, excessive management expenses, high policy lapse rates, embezzlement in the name of cash in hand, widespread fund embezzlement by showing single premium as term insurance, and irregularities in asset investment. In addition, a total of 7 crore taka has been spent in two installments from the company's paid-up capital of 18 crore taka. Which the company's CEO has not been able to replenish so far.

An undesirable situation has arisen that the directors of NRB Islami Life have been brought to justice for the CEO's illegal activities. A review of the company's audited and unaudited financial reports shows that most of the premium income earned each year comes from the unauthorized insurance plan "Secure Double Payment One Installment Insurance". 

Although the term of the plan is 6, 8, 10, 12, and 15 years, the company continues to accept a single premium from customers for a period of 6 years. Since the company's inception, in 2021, the company collected a single premium of 30 lakh taka from this plan. In the next year, i.e. 2022, it collected a premium of 11 crore 19 lakh taka. In the last year, in 2023, the premium was collected from this plan of about 11 crore 66 lakh taka. In the last three years, the premium was collected from this plan of about 23 crore 15 lakh taka. On this huge amount of premium, according to the Rules for Determining the Maximum Limit of Management Expenses in Life Insurance Business-2020, the maximum limit of management expenses for a single installment insurance was supposed to be 1 crore 16 lakh taka at the rate of 5 percent. But in violation of IDRA's instructions, under the direction of CEO Shah Jamal Howlader, through data fraud (converting single insurance premiums into term insurance), sometimes 45 percent and sometimes more, the customer's money has been embezzled in the name of management costs.

The company has collected a total of 81 crore taka from 1st year premium, renewal and group insurance from inception to 2023. Of this, in 2021, it earned 5 crore 57 lakh taka from 1st year premium, in 2022, it earned 29 crore 71 lakh taka from 1st year premium including 27 crore taka from 1st year premium and renewal and group insurance combined, and in the latest 2023, it collected 46 crore 24 lakh taka from 1st year premium including 36 crore taka from 1st year premium and renewal and group insurance combined.

It is mentioned  that in the last three years, out of the 1st year premium, renewal and group insurance income of 81 crore taka, about 24 crore taka has been collected as a one-time premium from the unauthorized insurance plan "Secure Double Payment One Installment Insurance". Although NRB Islamic Life has done business of 81 crore taka so far, the company has failed to take the life fund in a satisfactory condition. On the contrary, the company has falsified the data and thrown all the premium collected at a one-time rate from the single installment insurance plan into the deficit. As a result, the company is currently in extreme liquidity crisis. 

The company's External Auditor, Mahfel Haque & Company, mentioned in the 'Emphasis of Matter Head : of their audit report in 2022 that it did not actually receive a total of 4 crore 26 lakh taka in cash in hand in 2021 and 2022. The sector concerned has been surprised that the company did not file an STR-SAR with the BFIU regarding this financial irregularity of the company.No comment was available as their cell phones are found off.