Over the past 15 years of the Awami League government, technology company Leads Corporation Limited, established in 1992, secured business worth nearly Tk 1,500 crore through various government and financial-sector projects under the “Digital Bangladesh” vision.
The company had a long-standing presence in providing technology infrastructure and software services to state-owned and private banks, financial institutions and government agencies. However, it eventually faced a severe financial crisis, including salary arrears for employees and a long-running ownership-related legal dispute. At one point, its core banking software, BankUltimus, was even put on the path to auction following a court order.
An analysis of sector-related information and financial documents indicates that the total value of work executed by Leads Corporation over the past decade and a half was approximately Tk 1,200 crore to Tk 1,800 crore.
A substantial portion of this business came from the installation of thousands of ATMs at state-owned and private banks as a local partner of Dell and NCR, as well as the supply of equipment to critical data centres operated by government agencies, including the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Election Commission. The estimated value of these projects was around Tk 600 crore to Tk 850 crore.
Leads also generated revenue from licensing and implementing its own core banking software, BankUltimus, and its brokerage back-office software, BlueChip. Revenue from these businesses is estimated at approximately Tk 200 crore to Tk 300 crore.
In addition, the company reportedly earned around Tk 4 crore to Tk 7 crore per month through long-term annual maintenance contracts and technical support services for banks and financial institutions. Over the past 15 years, revenue from this segment is estimated at Tk 300 crore to Tk 450 crore.
Leads also earned from projects involving customs modernisation at the NBR, infrastructure for the Election Commission’s National Identity Card database, the National e-Service Bus, and skills development and training programmes implemented by the ICT Division. Available information suggests that revenue from these projects amounted to approximately Tk 100 crore to Tk 150 crore.
Despite its long-standing involvement in technology services for banks and financial institutions, a gap eventually emerged between Leads’ business income and regular cash flow on one hand and its internal financial condition on the other, according to people familiar with the company’s affairs.
Sources within the organisation claimed that questions arose over the management of the company’s funds despite regular cash inflows, and that the financial crisis deepened as money was allegedly transferred elsewhere. However, no conclusive evidence of such transfers or financial irregularities could be established from publicly available documents.
Ownership dispute creates major financial liability
Meanwhile, an old ownership-related lawsuit resulted in a substantial financial liability for Leads. According to court records, steps were taken to enforce a decree against the company in a suit seeking recovery of outstanding dues. In 2024, an order by the Joint District Judge, First Court, Dhaka, initiated proceedings to freeze Leads’ bank accounts, auction BankUltimus software and begin the process of selling Leads Tower through auction.
Court documents in the case cited outstanding dues of US$72,755,538.78. The amount subsequently increased due to interest and other calculations. Published reports in 2024 put the outstanding amount at approximately Tk 83.66 crore.
As part of the process for recovering the money, BankUltimus was placed in a position to be auctioned. Court documents mention an offer of Tk 5 crore for the software. Leads was reportedly given an opportunity to bring forward a buyer willing to pay more, but the court records indicate that this could not be achieved at the time.
Employees bear the brunt
The legal dispute also affected the company’s employees. An investigative report published in 2024, citing former employees, said salary payments at Leads had become irregular from 2018. The report stated that employees’ total unpaid salaries eventually reached approximately Tk 40 crore.
According to former employees, a company that once paid salaries regularly later began delaying payments by as much as three to four months. Former employee Arifur Amran Chowdhury said at the time that more than Tk 17 lakh was owed to him personally.
Former Leads Chief Operating Officer S M Saifur Rahman said the company collected around Tk 6 crore to Tk 7 crore each month from various banks and financial institutions, while its monthly salary bill was approximately Tk 2 crore. According to him, the finance department told employees that funds were being used to repay bank loans belonging to the owners.
Later, former Chief Executive Officer Mizanur Rahman reportedly reviewed the company’s financial records and found that, before the bank accounts were frozen, Leads was receiving approximately Tk 4 crore to Tk 5 crore per month, while its monthly salary expenditure stood at around Tk 1.5 crore.
He said the records showed that money existed in the accounts, but the funds were not available when needed. He also suspected that the money might have been transferred elsewhere.
These statements, however, remain claims made by former company officials. No conclusive evidence supporting allegations that funds were removed or transferred abroad has been found in publicly available court records.
BankUltimus uncertainty raises concerns among banks
During Leads’ financial crisis, uncertainty surrounding its flagship product, BankUltimus, also affected banks using the software.
Because a core banking system is integral to a bank’s accounts, transactions, loans, deposits and other banking operations, the financial and technical capacity of the software provider becomes critical to the continuity of banking services.
Published reports said a significant number of Leads’ technology employees left the company during the period. This created concerns among user banks about the maintenance and future development of BankUltimus.
Change in ownership
Leads subsequently underwent a change in ownership. In July 2024, Western Group acquired 100% of the shares of Leads Corporation. At the time, however, litigation concerning ownership of BankUltimus was still ongoing.
Leads Corporation said that on July 27, 2026, a full bench of the Appellate Division delivered its judgment in Civil Appeal No. 46 of 2025.
According to the company, the Appellate Division set aside the lower court’s orders relating to the auction and attachment of assets. Leads said the ruling effectively resolved the legal uncertainty surrounding its ownership and intellectual property rights over BankUltimus.
The company currently says BankUltimus is being used by 13 state-owned and private banks in Bangladesh. Leads has also announced that it is developing a new universal banking platform called Finginx.
New legal issue involving Western Engineering
A separate legal issue has also emerged following the change in Leads’ ownership. Seven writ petitions involving Western Engineering Private Limited, the National Board of Revenue and others remain on the Supreme Court’s cause list. The cases are numbered 7955/2020 through 7961/2020. They appeared on various cause lists in 2025, and their presence was also recorded in 2026.
However, the mere existence of NBR-related cases against a company does not establish tax evasion or any other offence. Without separately examining the precise subject matter of the cases, the positions of the parties involved and the final decisions of the courts, no allegation against Western Engineering can be considered established.
Questions remain despite the legal resolution
The current situation surrounding Leads therefore needs to be viewed from two separate perspectives.
On one hand, the company says the Appellate Division’s judgment has removed the uncertainty over ownership of BankUltimus and resolved the legal dispute surrounding its auction.
On the other hand, it remains necessary to assess how completely the company has recovered from the financial crisis that previously resulted in salary arrears, legal enforcement proceedings and the prospect of its core banking software being auctioned.
For companies operating core banking systems, industry observers say software ownership alone is not sufficient. Financial strength, availability of skilled technology personnel, management structure and the ability to provide long-term maintenance and technical support are equally important.
In the case of Leads, the events of the past several years have therefore highlighted the need for banks and financial institutions using its technology to conduct appropriate due diligence on not only the software itself, but also the financial and operational resilience of its provider.