Bangladesh Bank on Wednesday directed all scheduled banks to pay deposited money to nominee or nominees after death of account holder.

The directive was issued to managing directors or chief executive officers of all the scheduled banks.

“It has been noticed that some of the scheduled banks have taken affidavit from nominees of depositors saying that the nominees may not be eligible as the recipients of the deposited money after the death of the account holders,” the circular said.

Taking affidavit from the nominees is violation of article 103 of Bank Company Act 1991, said the circular signed by Abu Farah Md Naser, general manager of Bangladesh Bank.

The scheduled banks are directed to follow the article 103 of Bank Company Act 1991 in paying the deposited money to the nominees mentioned in the account documents.

According to section 103 (3) of the Bank Company Act, 1991, the nominee shall get priority over any person and all other persons shall get deprived of such property after the death of the depositor or investor.

According to sources at the central bank, the scheduled banks are taking affidavit taking the advantage of a court verdict, which delivered a historical judgement in establishing right of the legal heirs as against that of the nominees.

A High Court ruling in 2016 disallowed a second wife from inheriting deceased husband’s full money in bank account as the nominee until the trial court determines his legal heirs.

A bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Khizir Ahmed Choudhury gave the ruling overturning the trial court’s decision that the  nominee alone had the right to inherit the money in the bank following death of the account holder.

Monjurul Haq Chowdhury and his two sisters moved the High Court seeking review of the lower court’s rejection of their application seeking succession certificates and favouring their step mother Bilkis Ara Begum as the lone inheritor of Tk30 lakh in the bank account of their late father Md Shahidul Haq Chowdhury.

On September 23, 2013,  Bangladesh Bank deputy director Shahidul died.

He made his second wife Bilkis, the nominee of his account with the Bangladesh Bank’s Motijheel office in which he had deposited savings certificates worth Tk30 lakh.

The High Court directed the Bangladesh Bank to distribute the money of the deceased among his legal heirs on the basis of the succession certificates to be issued by the lower court.