Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated legal action against Aminul Hasan, a commissioner of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), the Managing Director (MD) of Teletalk Bangladesh Ltd, and individuals from Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC), along with six others.
The charges allege corruption and misconduct, leading to the government’s failure to secure a concessional loan of Tk 521.79 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The case was lodged by ACC Assistant Director Md. Joynal Abedin on Tuesday, with confirmation provided by ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Aktharul Islam.
Those implicated include BTRC Commissioner Aminul Hasan, BSCPLC’s MD and former BTCL-1 Director Moshiur Rahman, Teletalk MD Shahab Uddin, former BTCL DE-5 Ataur Rahman, former director Maqsudur Rahman Akand, GM Ashok Kumar Mondal, former MD Mahfuz Uddin Ahmad, and BSCPLC’s General Manager (Operation and Maintenance) Azam Ali.
The lawsuit alleges that the accused collectively engaged in unethical practices, manipulating government authority to favor a specific contractor over the most competitive bid for the Telecommunication Network Development (TND) project.
Their actions, marked by significant deviations from procurement regulations and JICA guidelines-including alterations in pre-qualification assessments and delayed estimate finalisation post-tender invitation-resulted in considerable setbacks.
This misconduct led to JICA retracting its loan offer of Tk 521.79 crore, which carried a nominal interest rate of 0.01 percent, on May 7, 2015. The withdrawal of this financial assistance has not only deprived the nation of valuable resources but has also inflicted substantial economic damage.
The allegations against the involved parties fall under Sections 409, 420, 468, 471, 511, and 109 of the Penal Code, in addition to Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.