Three central bank officials who faced criticism for holding a press conference calling Governor Dr. Ahsan H Mansur a 'dictator' have been transferred.

The order will come into effect immediately on Tuesday (February 24). The instruction issued by the head office of Bangladesh Bank said that with the approval of the authority, Director of SME and Special Programs Department Naushad Mustafa has been transferred to the Barisal office. Additional Director of Foreign Exchange Policy Division-1 AKM Masum Billah has been transferred to the Rangpur office. Additional Director of Banking Regulations and Policies Division-2 Golam Mustafa has been transferred to the Bogra office.

The instruction further said that the concerned officials will submit their assignment reports to the Human Resources Department as usual.

Three Bangladesh Bank officials were booked for holding a press conference calling governor Ahsan H Mansur a “dictator.”

They were asked to respond within the next 10 days. Legal action will be taken if the response is not satisfactory.

Bangladesh Bank executive director and spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan gave this information at a press briefing on Tuesday (February 24).

Asked whether the press conference had the jurisdiction, the spokesperson said that since the matter is under the ambit of a show cause, it is not possible to comment on it at the moment. A decision will be announced after receiving the response.

The three officials who were summoned are Bangladesh Bank's Blue Party General Secretary and SME and Special Programs Department Director Naushad Mostafa, Bangladesh Bank Officers Welfare Council President AKM Masum Billah, and the same organization's General Secretary Golam Mostafa Shraban.

It is learned that in a press conference organized on February 16, they criticized various decisions of the governor.

There, questions were raised about the initiative to merge Exim Bank and Social Islami Bank with weak banks, the licencing process for digital banks and the recent policymaking in the banking sector. At the same time, the governor was called a dictator.

According to the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulation, officials have to seek the governor's approval before giving press conferences, meetings or statements to the media.

If there is an objection to the governor or senior officials, it is possible to discuss it in an internal forum; there is no provision for holding a direct press conference. However, questions were also raised about the purpose of the central bank's board meeting on the same day at the press conference on February 16.

The press conference alleged that there was an attempt to rush to grant a digital bank licence to the private institution bKash. However, according to the relevant documents, the board meeting was held with eight agendas, including the evaluation of the digital bank licence.