ACC sues Tarique Siddique, 18 others
Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed four cases against 19 officials, including ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’smilitary adviser Major General (retd) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, over embezzling Tk812 crore from three airports development projects in the country.
ACC Director General (Prevention) MdAkhtarHossaindisclosed it while briefed reporters on Monday afternoon (27 January) at ACC Segunbagicha’s headquarter further adding that they are facing charges over embezzling money from the development projects of the HazratShahjalal International Airport, SylhetOsmani International Airport, and Cox’s Bazar Airport.
Former secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism MohibulHaque, former chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice Marshal (Retd) M MafidurRahman and former joint secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism JanendranathSarkar were also named as accused in the cases.
The probe centres on allegations of collusion, fraud, and financial misconduct in the development projects of various airports over the past 15 years.
The ACC said its investigation uncovered that those high-ranking officials and private entities colluded to siphon off funds designated for infrastructure development.
The accused officials include prominent figures from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, CAAB, and private contractors.
Other individuals facing charges include Abdul Malek, former chief engineer of CAAB, and HabiburRahman, superintendent engineer at CAAB.
Additionally, MahbubulAnam, the managing director of Aeroness International Limited, LutfullahMazed, the director of Aeroness International Limited, AfrozaNasrin Sultana, the project director for CNS-ATM radar installation at HazratShahjalal International Airport, and AKM Monzur Ahmed, the former project director of the CNS-ATM radar installation project, are also named in the cases.
Others from CAAB include MahfuzurRahman, former additional chief engineer; MdRafiqul Islam, former deputy director; Mohammad Hossain, an executive engineer; SM KabirHossain, another executive engineer; and LutforRahman, managing director of a related contractor company.
The list further expands to include MdSarwarHossain, a senior engineer at CAAB; MdMoinuddin, an assistant engineer at CAAB; Md Abdullah Al Mamun, a CAAB officer; and AnisurRahman, a private contractor.
According to the case documents, approximately Tk200 crore was misappropriated from the radar installation under the Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance-Air Traffic Management (CNS-ATM) project at HazratShahjalal International Airport.
Besides, Tk250 crore was allegedly siphoned off from the airport’s expansion project, which included the construction of the third terminal.
Furthermore, Tk212 crore was reportedly embezzled from the expansion project of Sylhet’sOsmani International Airport, and Tk150 crore was misappropriated from the terminal construction and runway development project at Cox’s Bazar International Airport.
A significant aspect of the investigation centres on the radar installation project at HazratShahjalal International Airport, which involved the French company Thales LAS and Aeroness International. According to ACC findings, despite Thales specializing in radar technology, Tk150 crore was allocated for civil construction work, without clear specifications or competitive bidding.
This violation of the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) of 2008 led to a government-to-government contract that bypassed standard procedures to benefit favoured contractors, the commission said.
The accused individuals are alleged to have conspired to manipulate tender processes, inflate project costs, and violate financial protocols.
These actions led to the embezzlement of Tk812 crore in total.