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Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat

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Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat is a Bangladeshi businessman connected to the Awami League government.[1][2] Sarafat is the founder chairman of the board of trustees of Canadian University of Bangladesh.[3][4] He is the chairman of Padma Bank Limited.[5]

Early life

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Sarafat is from Gopalganj District.[1] His older brother is sports commentator Chowdhury Jafarullah Sharafat.[6]

Career

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Sarafat started his career in 1999 at Standard Chartered Bank.[7] He was appointed a director of IFIC Bank and left Standard Chartered Bank after questions where raised about his connections to two banks simultaneously.[7]

Sarafat joined ICB Islamic Bank as the Head of Consumer Banking in 2008.[7]

Sarafat received his Doctorate in Business Administration from Commonwealth University-London on 15 December 2016.[8] The online only university is not credited and the degree is not recognized.[9][10]

In January 2018, Sarafat was appointed chairman of Farmers Bank Limited, later renamed to Padma Bank, after its chairman Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir resigned over allegations of embezzling from the bank.[11] In 2021, Sarafat and Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir accused each other of being corrupt.[12] Alamgir, who is a shareholder of Padma Bank,[13] asked Bangladesh Bank to investigate a loan of a billion taka to Strategic Equity Management allegedly owned by Sarafat.[12] He is the Head of Consumer Banking of ICB Islamic Bank Limited.[14]

Sarafat is the founding chairman of Canadian University of Bangladesh.[15] The university awards Sarafat Chowdhury Merit Scholarship.[16] In October 2021, Benoit Prefontaine, Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus of Canadian University of Bangladesh in Purbachal in a ceremony presided by Sarafat.[17] The plot, initially earmarked for a school, for the university had been allocated in violation of government rules by RAJUK.[18] Mohammad A. Arafat is chief adviser to the board of trustees.[18][19]

In 2022, Sarafat became a director of the National Tea Company Limited.[20] He founded two news organizations, Dainik Bangla and newsbangla24.com.[7] He founded Citizen TV with Muhammad Shafiqur Rahman, member of parliament, who later alleged Sarafat and Benazir Ahmed forcefully took shares of the TV from him.[7]

The cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore was arrested under the Digital Security Act for drawing cartoons critical of the government including one where he portrayed Sarafat as a bank embezzler.[21]

Sarafat owns RACE Portfolio and Issue Management which was one of the issue manager in the aborted attempt to list Best Holdings Limited whose permission was denied by Bangladesh Bank.[22] Another issue manager, the government owned ICB Capital Management, denied any involvement with the company.[23] He is a director of Unique Hotel and Resorts Limited, which owns Westin Dhaka.[24] He and his wife are directors of Race Financial Management Inc. and Can-Ban Chambers House, based in Canada.[25][26] He is a major shareholder of RACE Asset Management.[1] He is a member of the executive committee of Bangladesh Association of Banks.[27] He is the Managing Director of Unique Meghnaghat Power Limited, a subsidiary of Unique group.[28][29]

Personal life

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Sarafat is married to Anjuman Ara Shahid.[30] She served as the chairman of Strategic Finance and Investment Limited and later director of Southeast Bank.[30][31] She is the Vice-Chairman of Canadian University of Bangladesh.[30] She also owns shares of Padma Bank.[30] Their request to make their son, Chowdhury Rahib Sarafat, a director of Southeast Bank was denied by Bangladesh Bank as he was under 20.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "A deal undone". Netra News — নেত্র নিউজ. 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  2. ^ Bashar, Reazul. "Best Holdings episode gets murkier as ICB says it's not part of the game". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  3. ^ "Nafeez Sarafat graced the IBA- EMBA Orientation as the Chief Guest". Barta24. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  4. ^ "Dr Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat hands over a crest to Corinne Petrisor | Daily Sun |". daily sun. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  5. ^ "Padma Bank's board meeting held". The Business Standard. 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  6. ^ Khan, Mohammad Jamil (2024-09-02). "Nafeez Sarafat manipulated stock market". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  7. ^ a b c d e ইসলাম, ফখরুল (2024-08-31). "চৌধুরী নাফিজ সরাফাত: রাষ্ট্রীয় পৃষ্ঠপোষকতায় যাঁর উত্থান". Prothomalo (in Bengali). Retrieved 2024-08-31.
  8. ^ "Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat conferred Doctoral Degree". The New Nation. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  9. ^ "Columbia Commonwealth University | Higher Education Degree Datacheck". hedd.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  10. ^ "Columbia Commonwealth University-London | University Directory". www.university-directory.eu. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  11. ^ "Sarafat selected as Farmers Bank chairman". The Daily Star. 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  12. ^ a b "MK Alamgir-Nafeez Sarafat raise allegations of graft against each other". Dhaka Tribune. 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  13. ^ Uddin, AKM Zamir (2018-12-24). "Farmers Bank to take new name amid image crisis". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  14. ^ "Icb Islamic Bank Limited || Bangladesh". www.icbislamic-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  15. ^ "Canadian University of Bangladesh congratulates 'Diana Award' winner Anusha Chowdhury". www.dhakatribune.com. 2022-07-03. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  16. ^ ""Sarafat Chowdhury Merit Scholarship" Awarding Ceremony at Canadian University of Bangladesh – Today's World News 24". Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  17. ^ "Canadian Ambassador lays foundation stone of CUB's permanent campus". The Business Standard. 2021-10-25. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  18. ^ a b Masum, Obaidur. "Canadian University gets Rajuk's Purbachal plot 'in breach of rules'". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  19. ^ "Canadian University of Bangladesh protests report, bdnews24.com responds". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  20. ^ "Padma Bank chair Nafeez enters into NTC board". New Age | The Most Popular Outspoken English Daily in Bangladesh. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  21. ^ Feinstein, Anthony (2021-10-05). "Despite detention and torture, Bangladeshi cartoonist Kishore continues to use his art to speak truth to power". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  22. ^ "Bangladesh orders four state banks to explain investments in Best Holdings". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  23. ^ Bashar, Reazul. "Market analysts question Best Holdings asset value". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  24. ^ "Westin Dhaka owners, officials' links to Papia will be investigated, RAB says". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  25. ^ "Race Financial Management Inc. · 777 Warden Avenue # 209, Toronto, ON M1L 4C3". opengovca.com. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  26. ^ "Anjuman Ara Shahid · 259 Sylvan Avenue, Toronto, ON M1E 1A7". opengovca.com. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  27. ^ "Executive Committee". www.bab-bd.com. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  28. ^ "Board of Directors – UMPL". Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  29. ^ "Unique group to install 584 MW pp in Meghnaghat". Energy Bangla. 2019-07-24. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  30. ^ a b c d e "Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat's wife becomes director of Southeast Bank". Business Insider Bangladesh. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
  31. ^ Uddin, AKM Zamir (2020-01-14). "BB's baffling move". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
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