Former Islami Bank chairman returns home after a decade

Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, who was chairman of Islami Bank Bangladesh before S Alam Group took over the financial institution, has returned home after staying abroad for a decade.

Zaher left for London after resigning from the oldest Shariah-based bank in 2015, said officials of Islami Bank and Ibn Sina Trust.

He has been serving Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical PLC as a director since 1983, according to the company website.

It will take a few days for Zaher—also a director of Ibn Sina Trust—to start the office, said Mohammad Jasim Uddin, chief financial officer of the Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical.

Zaher returned to Bangladesh on September 22.

A top official of Islami Bank seeking anonymity said Zaher was a member of the board of Islami Bank as a representative of Ibn Sina Trust.

The trust runs a medical college, a nursing institute, a specialised hospital with 300 beds along with other two general hospitals consisting of 300 and 50 beds respectively in the name of Ibn Sina.

Ibne Sina Trust had 2.24 percent shares in Islami Bank and it sold off its stakes in 2018.

In January of the same year, Ibn Sina left Islami Bank's board after a huge reshuffle.

Zaher was also a former managing director of Ibn Sina Pharmaceutical Industry PLC and a founder member of the Manarat International School & College.

He served the Saudi Arabia's embassy in Dhaka as secretary and later as an ambassador for about 13 years.