The Conscious Customers’ Forum has given Bangladesh Bank Governor a 24-hour ultimatum to meet its seven-point demands regarding Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, warning of fresh protest programmes if the demands are not addressed within the stipulated time.

The ultimatum was announced on Monday around 12:30 pm by the forum’s convener, Professor Nurunnabi Manik, in front of the main gate of Bangladesh Bank.

Earlier, protesters under the banner of the Conscious Customers’ Forum marched from Islami Bank Tower in Motijheel to the central bank headquarters. The procession was stopped by police upon reaching Bangladesh Bank.

The demonstrators said they would continue their movement until their seven-point demands are met. They also alleged that efforts were underway to appoint individuals linked to the controversial S Alam Group to the bank’s board of directors, warning that they would resist any such move.

Professor Nurunnabi Manik said the emotions and expectations of the bank’s approximately 30 million customers must be respected to save the institution from further deterioration.

“If the board is not constituted in line with customers’ expectations, customers will once again unite to resist it,” he said.

He also alleged that some employees who had been recruited illegally and without examinations were trying to create disorder within the bank and called for strict action against them.

Manik said the forum’s ultimatum would be submitted to the relevant authorities in the form of a memorandum.

Earlier, at a briefing outside Islami Bank Tower in Dilkusha, the forum reiterated its seven-point demands, which include:

1. Formation of a fully independent and professional board of directors through consultation with qualified, experienced stakeholders.
2. Immediate restoration of the bank’s ownership to its original shareholders, which the forum claims was forcibly taken over in 2017.
3. Establishment of a special tribunal to try those, including the S Alam Group, accused of embezzling and laundering thousands of crores of taka from the bank.
4. An end to controversial decisions affecting banking sector stability and legal action against alleged misinformation campaigns on social media.
5. Recovery of laundered money through a special task force and sale of S Alam Group’s assets to repay bank loans.
6. Amendment of Section 18(A) of the Bank Company Act to permanently bar identified looters and their associates from serving on bank boards.
7. Immediate withdrawal of what the forum described as a misleading statement made by the Home Minister in Parliament regarding Islami Bank.

The forum warned that it would announce new programmes at a press conference on Wednesday if its demands remain unmet.