Who appoints CEO at Nagad now?

A new power struggle started at Nagad, Bangladesh's second-largest mobile financial service provider, after a court order suspended the role of a central bank-appointed administrator, triggering competing claims of authority.

The High Court stayed the activities of the administrator, Motasem Billah, on May 7 following a petition by one of Nagad's former directors. In the aftermath, Motasem Billah and his team have refrained from attending office since Wednesday.

In the administrator's absence, former Nagad director Md Shafayet Alam assumed the role of chief executive officer despite facing fraud charges in a case filed by the Bangladesh Bank. But how he was appointed remains unclear.

When contacted, central bank spokesperson Arief Hossain Khan said this development amounted to "fraud", as the management board of Nagad remained intact and had informed the central bank that it did not appoint any CEO.

Arief said the central bank had learnt that former CEO Tanvir A Mishuk named the new chief executive via email. "But how can a former CEO appoint a new CEO?" asked Arief, who also serves as executive director of the central bank's Payment Systems Department.

"This appointment is illegal," he said.

Following a political transition, Bangladesh Bank took over Nagad in September last year and formed a management board to oversee its operations.

KAS Murshid, former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, was initially appointed to lead the board, but he recently resigned.

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Former AB Bank managing director Kaiser A Chowdhury has since taken over as its new head. When contacted, Kaiser declined to comment on the issue.

A Nagad official, requesting anonymity, said Shafayet had begun acting as CEO remotely. He has reportedly appointed new personnel and dismissed several others.

Efforts by The Daily Star to reach Shafayet via phone and WhatsApp were unsuccessful.

In a separate development, the government on Thursday directed the Directorate of Posts to assume overall responsibility for Nagad.

Citing a Supreme Court Appellate Division order in Civil Miscellaneous Petition No. 177 of 2025, the directorate said an interim government official instructed it to urgently take charge of Nagad's management, following the stay on the administrator's appointment.

To implement the directive, a committee has been formed. The committee will be physically present at Nagad's head office and other relevant locations as necessary and submit periodic reports, according to the letter.

Earlier, the Appellate Division stayed Bangladesh Bank's August 2024 decision to dissolve Nagad's board and appoint an administrator. It also paused a High Court verdict, which had upheld that decision. Bangladesh Bank has since sought to overturn the stay, and a hearing is scheduled for May 19 in the Appellate Division, said Arief.

After taking charge, the administrator uncovered numerous alleged irregularities at Nagad. One major issue was a Tk 600 crore deficit created by issuing e-money without corresponding cash backing, an act considered a serious offence in the financial sector.

In another instance, unauthorised withdrawals totalling Tk 1,711 crore were reportedly made over the years through 41 distribution accounts meant for government allowances.

The administrator's team had reported these findings to the director general of the Directorate of Posts.

Contacted, Tanvir Mishuk, former managing director and CEO of Nagad, told The Daily Star that the court's stay on the activities of the central bank-appointed administrator effectively reinstated the previous board, which then appointed an interim CEO.

Asked about his role in the appointment, Mishuk said he recommended Shafayet as CEO at the board's request.

He also claimed that the central bank-appointed management board is no longer valid following the court's stay order.