Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting information about 38 officials and employees working in Bangladeshi embassies in 10 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
Foreign Adviser Md Touhid Hossain, while briefing journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, stated, “The Ministry will assist the ACC in this matter once it is confirmed whether these complaints pertain to corruption or audit objections.”
The letter from the ACC’s Coordinated District Office Dhaka-1, sent on Tuesday, seeks details on the current workplaces, positions, permanent addresses, and current addresses of the specified officials and employees from Bangladeshi embassies or high commissions in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Saudi Arabia, China, Dubai, Italy, Switzerland, and the Philippines. The ACC has set a deadline of September 10 for the submission of this information. The ACC has also asked for information on the officials’ previous workplaces, branches they were responsible for, and their positions from the 2016-17 fiscal year.
Regarding the request for information about the 38 officials, Touhid Hossain said, “I saw this in the newspaper for the first time. There may be some confusion here, which we will clear up. Audit objections and corruption is not the same thing.”
Giving an example, he stated, “When I was in charge, a vehicle was purchased for the Kolkata mission. A similar but smaller vehicle was bought in Delhi at a lower price. An advance was paid to an agent, who is essentially a broker. The complaint is that four lakh taka was given to the broker, which should be recoverable.
This objection was against me. Why did I give this money, and whether it will be recoverable from me? The mission’s audit director was told that when purchasing a vehicle, an advance has to be given for booking, which is why some money is paid in advance. Audit objections sometimes arise from such situations. We need to see whether these are being perceived as corruption. We will investigate.” Regarding cooperation with the ACC, he said, “We will certainly cooperate. We do not want any corruption to occur. We will provide whatever assistance is requested, and we will assist in determining if any corruption has occurred.”
When asked if there might be some misunderstanding in this matter, the adviser said, “I don’t think there is room for misunderstanding, but I will not make any definitive statements until I review each case in detail.”
Regarding whether some individuals might be overly eager to file cases against others, he remarked, “That can happen; it always does. There’s no need to be overly concerned about it.”
In response to a question about the return of some Bangladeshi envoys, the Foreign Adviser stated, “All those who were on contract have been recalled.”
“Among them are three former administrative cadre officers, whose contracts were terminated on Tuesday. We gave the rest four weeks. They will all return. Replacements will take some time; it cannot be done abruptly. We need to do it thoughtfully, considering experienced individuals,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated an investigation into former army chief General Aziz Ahmed, along with his two brothers, Haris Ahmed and Tofayel Ahmed Joseph.
This move comes in response to preliminary intelligence reports suggesting the misuse of power, accumulation of illegal wealth, money laundering, and other irregularities, including corruption related to procurement processes.
An ACC source confirmed the decision on Wednesday, marking a significant development in the ongoing scrutiny of high-profile figures in the country.
In addition to investigating General Aziz and his brothers, the ACC has also set its sights on former lawmaker Nizamuddin Hazari. Hazari is accused of a series of offences, including tender manipulation, illegal occupation of government property, embezzlement of public funds, and the acquisition of illegal wealth through extortion.