The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has appointed an administrator to oversee operations at 'Nagad,' amid growing allegations that the digital financial service benefited from undue privileges under the ousted Awami League (AL) government.

Muhammad Badiuzzaman Didar, a director at the Chittagong office, has been transferred to the BB head office and will serve as the administrator for Nagad for one year, according to a notification issued on Wednesday night. Six additional officers have been assigned to support the administrator's efforts.

This move comes just a day after the central bank initiated an inquiry into the ownership and operations of five foreign companies linked to Nagad Digital Bank. The BB has requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to gather detailed information about these companies through Bangladesh’s embassies in Singapore and the United States.

The five foreign companies in question—Blue Heaven Ventures LLC, Osiris Capital Partners LLC, Zen Fintech LLC, Finclusion Ventures Pte Ltd, and Troupe Technologies LLC—are reportedly linked to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, according to sources within Nagad.

The central bank is seeking information on the companies' registration details, business activities, organizational structure, net income, and assets over the past three years, as well as their ownership and citizenship of the stakeholders.

In response to the appointment of the administrator, Nagad issued a statement welcoming the BB's decision, stating, "We believe that this will put an end to the recent smear campaign against Nagad."

Nagad, which originally launched as a mobile financial service under the Bangladesh Postal Department, later secured a non-bank financial institution license just before the digital bank-licensing process began. The scrutiny of Nagad intensified following the departure of dictator Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India amid a popular uprising led by students and the general populace of Bangladesh.