[🇧🇩] Corruption Watch

[Saif]

ACC scrutinising graft allegations against APS, PS of two advisers

The Anti-Corruption Commission is scrutinising the corruption allegations surfaced against private secretaries and assistant private secretary of two advisers of the interim government, ACC officials said.

www.newagebd.net

ACC scrutinising graft allegations against APS, PS of two advisers
Staff Correspondent 24 April, 2025, 21:34

Front view of Anti-Corruption Commission head office in Dhaka. | File photo

The Anti-Corruption Commission is scrutinising the corruption allegations surfaced against private secretaries and assistant private secretary of two advisers of the interim government, ACC officials said.

It was reported in a Bangla daily that a former assistant private secretary of youth and sports ministry adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain and a former and a serving private secretaries of health adviser Nurjahan Begum were allegedly involved in corruption.

An ACC official told New Age that the commission collected the report published by the Bangla daily on Thursday regarding graft allegations against the APS and the PSs of the two advisers, and the report was sent to the scrutiny cell of the commission.

When asked, ACC director general (prevention) Md Akhter Hossain said that the commission would take appropriate action in accordance with law regarding the corruption allegations against the APS and the PSs of the two advisers.

Speaking at a press briefing at the ACC headquarters in the capital Dhaka on Thursday, Akhter assured that the commission was aware of the allegations and would proceed based on legal procedures.

According to the Bangla daily report, Asif Mahmud’s former APS Md Moazzem Hossain was accused of lobbying, and similar allegations were made against the health adviser’s personal secretaries Tuhin Farabi and Mahmudul Hasan.

Amid graft allegations, Moazzem and Tuhin have been relieved of their posts, and a government order was issued on April 21, relieving Moazzem Hossain and Tuhin Farabi, said the report.

It said Moazzem allegedly embezzled a huge amount of money through recruitment and transfer business, tender business and rehabilitation of engineers who were allies of fascism at various levels.

It was alleged that Moazzem, a leader of the anti-discrimination movement, lobbied for the transfer and promotion of almost all grades of officials from chief engineer and additional chief engineer to upazila engineer of the local government engineering department.

In addition, he used to go around lobbying various ministries and departments. Especially in the home, water resources, housing and public works department and roads and highways department, he lobbied for contractors to get work.

Almost the same allegations were made against health adviser Nurjahan Begum’s personal officer (student representative) Tuhin Farabi and Md Mahmud. Since they were appointed on a temporary basis, they have allegedly embezzled hundreds of crores of taka through the appointment and transfer of doctors, medical college principals, directors, deputy directors, and civil surgeons, according to the report.

It is also known that they had lobbied to include the names of senior staff nurses, midwives, pathology technicians, nurses, and doctors in the Hajj team while there are allegations against them of extorting special benefits from health sector contractors.

Moazzem, however, told the media that he was not removed. He resigned from his post due to personal reasons.

He claimed that he had a viva voce examination in the Public Service Commission next month while he was also preparing to give a viva in an examination of the Bangladesh Bank. For these reasons, he resigned, he claimed.

On the other hand, after August 8, 2024, Tuhin Farabi and Mahmudul Hasan transferred several doctors through the former health secretary.

They allegedly took Tk 5 lakh to Tk 10 lakh for each transfer.

The two allegedly used to collect Tk 15 lakh to Tk 25 lakh for the appointment and transfer of the principal, director, deputy director, and civil surgeon of the medical college, said the report.

In addition, they used to collect Tk 2 lakh for the transfer of each senior staff nurse and midwife.

They are accused of taking money to include the names of nurses and doctors in the Hajj team.​

 

[Saif]

Midland Bank refutes BCB statement on Tk 2.5 billion fund transfer

Midland Bank has rejected a statement titled “BCB’s Explanation Regarding the Transfer of BDT 250 Crore by Faruque Ahmed” released by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). The BCB statement contains “misleading and baseless information” about the bank, it said in a rejo

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Midland Bank refutes BCB statement on Tk 2.5 billion fund transfer
FE ONLINE DESK
Published :
Apr 27, 2025 21:40
Updated :
Apr 27, 2025 21:40

Midland Bank has rejected a statement titled “BCB’s Explanation Regarding the Transfer of BDT 250 Crore by Faruque Ahmed” released by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

The BCB statement contains “misleading and baseless information” about the bank, it said in a rejoinder on Sunday.

The following is the rejoinder verbatim:

On April 26, 2025, BCB issued a press release titled “BCB’s Explanation Regarding the Transfer of BDT 250 crore by Faruque Ahmed,” which included misleading and baseless information about Midland Bank. Midland Bank strongly protests and condemns this.

The published report, quoting BCB’s statement, mentioned: "Prioritizing the protection of financial interests, the BCB Board has re-evaluated its banking relationships and decided to transact only with financial institutions listed under Bangladesh Bank's 'Green' and 'Yellow' zone. An amount of BDT 250 crore was withdrawn from banks categorized as risky, and BDT 238 crore was reinvested into banks listed in the 'Green' and 'Yellow' zone."

It is important to note that, according to various newspaper reports (reference: The Daily Star, date: 11.03.2024), Midland Bank is one of the eight banks designated under the 'Green' zone by Bangladesh Bank, as reported in the newspapers. Despite being classified as 'Green,' as per the news reports, BCB withdrew its deposits from Midland Bank before the maturity date (through premature encashment) and transferred them to various banks.

Notably, according to the cited report, Midland Bank is the only fourth-generation bank included in the 'Green' list. Midland Bank maintains a satisfactory position across all financial indicators, including capital adequacy, asset quality, profitability, and management efficiency, and operates with the highest financial discipline as per Bangladesh Bank and all regulatory regulations.

The publication of BCB's press release has harmed the image of Midland Bank, which is unfortunate. The deposit placed by BCB with Midland Bank was returned immediately upon BCB’s request, even before maturity, demonstrating the strength and financial capability of Midland Bank. As on December 31, 2024, NPL Ratio of the Bank was 3.78 per cent and Capital Adequacy Ratio was 16.78 per cent, much higher than the minimum required ratio of 12.50 per cent.

BCB’s explanation also indicated that restructuring banking relationships resulted in increased profits from term deposits. Recently, several media reports have highlighted incidents where customers were unable to retrieve their deposits from various banks, often after placing funds in risky institutions in hopes of higher returns. Such issues have been reported widely. In contrast, Midland Bank consistently manages its funds prudently, ensuring that customers can withdraw their deposits at any time without notice.

In light of the above, as one of the most reputable media outlets in the country, we respectfully request that you: Recognize that the information regarding Midland Bank in BCB's press release titled "BCB’s Explanation Regarding the Transfer of BDT 250 Crore by Faruque Ahmed" is false and misleading.

Retract the false and misleading information regarding Midland Bank and publish a corrected report clearly stating the bank’s true status as a well-organized financial institution listed under the 'Green' zone, as reported in the newspapers.

Exercise special caution to verify and ensure the accuracy of information before publishing any future news related to Midland Bank.​

 

[Saif]

ACC asks BCB for information on Papon over graft charges

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating allegations of corruption against former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president and MP Nazmul Hassan Papon. The anti-graft watchdog’s spokesman Akhtarul Islam said a letter was sent to the board as part of the inquiry on Monday, reports

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

ACC asks BCB for information on Papon over graft charges
Published :
Apr 28, 2025 22:56
Updated :
Apr 28, 2025 22:56

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating allegations of corruption against former Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president and MP Nazmul Hassan Papon.

The anti-graft watchdog’s spokesman Akhtarul Islam said a letter was sent to the board as part of the inquiry on Monday, reports bdnews24.com.

Another senior official said the letter had sought 27 types of information and documents. The BCB was asked to deliver them within seven workdays.

Papon, the former minister for youth and sports and managing director of Beximco Pharmaceuticals, is accused of accumulating “huge assets beyond known sources of income” at home and abroad by misusing the BCB and government funds.

The anti-corruption watchdog also alleges that he has laundered money abroad through Hundi in connivance with Beximco Pharmaceuticals officials.

The ACC officially launched an investigation against Papon on Mar 18 following the shift of the political landscape.

The commission’s Director General Akhtar Hossain told the media then that Papon had been accused of embezzling money through corruption during his tenure as BCB president.

Earlier on Mar 16, the court issued a travel ban on Nazmul, his wife Roksana Hassan, daughters Sunehra Rahman, Rushmila Rahman and son Rafsan Hassan.

In mid-March, the commission formed a three-strong probe team with its Deputy Director Md Saiduzzaman as the team leader. The other members of the panel are Assistant Director Monirul Islam and Deputy Assistant Director Subimal Chakma.​