The National Board of Revenue has asked different banks to provide it with detailed financial information of former Rajshahi University vice-chancellor Prof Abdus Sobhan and four others of his family.

The other family members are: his wife Monowara Sobhan, son Mushfique Sobhan, daughter Sanjana Sobhan and son-in-law ATM Shahed Parvez.

In a letter sent to different banks on May 24, the Central Intelligence Cell of NBR asked for the bank information of the five persons within seven days of receiving the letter.

Meanwhile, Prof Sobhan, who was the RU VC for two four-year terms of 2009-2013 and 2017-2021, was suspected to have amassed wealth by receiving bribes against large-scale unlawful recruitment, according to probe reports of the UGC and a committee of the education ministry.

In his office, Prof Sobhan lowered the standard for recruitment of teachers for appointing his daughter and son-in-law as teachers and they allegedly cooperated with him in other recruitment as well.

The NBR letter asked the banks to provide all updated information regarding any of their banks accounts or joint accounts or any organisation run by the persons since July 1, 2014.

The letter sought information of their accounts that were even closed by the given time.

It also sought information of all types of their accounts -- savings, current, fixed deposits, savings instrument, investment schemes, and deposit schemes.

Prof Sobhan recruited at least 364 teachers and 595 staffers and the investigation teams found evidence of taking bribes from the job seekers.

On his last day in office on May 6, Prof Sobhan recruited at least 137 staffers, including nine teachers, giving rise to protests on the campus. The education ministry termed the recruitment illegal on the same day.

Later, a ministerial committee found the recruitment to be illegal and recommended enquiring into bank accounts of Prof Sobhan and his family members.

In the NBR letter, the banks were warned of legal action for not providing the information in given time and the actions include fining Tk 25,000, Tk 500 for each day of delay and jail terms.