The first heist at the state owned Sonali Bank was in January 2014 when Tk. 32 lakh was stolen from its Adamdighi branch in Bogura; then this year, during the Ramadan holiday of Shab e Qadar, seven sacks filled with cash were stolen from the banks vault in a local branch. After this, two officials of the bank were terminated, said relevant sources.
Bangladesh Bank officials say that there is concern over the vaults of all banks, including Janata and Agrani.
Since the vaults have not been made fully secure, a mishap can take place any moment.
Last Thursday, the Bangladesh Bank issued a directive, asking all banks to ramp up their security measures.
Spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank and executive director, Sirajul Islam, told Bangla Tribune: “a directive on security was circulated to avoid any theft during Eid holidays.”
Banks have also been warned about possible cyber-attacks.
Meanwhile, over the stealing of seven sacks of money from Sonali Bank, two officials, Golam Mostofa and Babul Siddiqui, were sacked. They had keys to the vault and were apprehended by the Ansar team deployed for security.
In 2014, Tk 17 crore were stolen from Kishoreganj branch of Sonali Bank via an underground tunnel.
There have been several thefts at Agrani Bank, BRAC Bank and Commerce Bank and, keeping these incidents in mind, orders were made to ratchet up security of bank vaults.
Banks have been ordered to place CCTVs, install anti-theft alarm and take special service from law enforcers.
They have also been asked to: have steel barricades around vaults, place security tested doors and get the walls vetted for security by engineers.
Also, security has to be linked to the central information system; fire extinguishers have to be placed plus all money kept in the vault has to be insured.
Agrani Bank chairman, Dr. Zaed Bakht, told Bangla Tribune: “everyone must adhere to the vault security guideline set out by Bangladesh Bank.”
During Eid holidays, security deployment at banks need to be beefed up, he added.