BTTC chair leaves country amid corruption allegation
Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) chairman and former National Board of Revenue (NBR) member Mainul Khan has stepped down from his post with 10 months still remaining in his tenure, amid mounting allegations of bribery, money laundering, and illegal accumulation of wealth.
According to officials of the BTTC and NBR, he abruptly left the country in what they describe as an attempt to evade ongoing corruption investigations.
Sources in the Ministry of Commerce say Mainul submitted a voluntary retirement application, which is dated October 30 and currently held by the ministry. He is reportedly in Saudi Arabia performing Umrah, making him unreachable for comment. A government order issued on October 20 granted him a 20-day leave from October 26 to November 14, during which he left the country.
The corruption allegations against Mainul gained legal traction earlier this year. On May 15, Supreme Court advocate Sagarika Islam filed a writ petition on behalf of S.M. Morshed, seeking directives for a full investigation into the charges of bribery and money laundering.
The petition named several high-level officials as respondents, including the Cabinet Secretary, Public Administration Secretary, Finance Secretary, Commerce Secretary, and the Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser, the NBR and ACC chairmen, and senior police officials.
The writ questions why the authorities have failed to take action on the allegations and seeks a ruling declaring such inaction illegal. It also requests the formation of a five-member high-level investigative committee to submit a report within 15 days. Additionally, the petition sought a travel ban to prevent Mainul from leaving Bangladesh—a measure rendered ineffective once he had already exited the country.
The legal proceedings follow an earlier complaint filed on April 2 last year by SM Morshed to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), accusing Mainul of bribery, money laundering, and amassing vast illegal wealth.
When no progress was made, a legal notice was issued on October 20. After the ACC responded without initiating an investigation, the writ petition was submitted, with the original complaint attached.
The complaint alleges that Mainul, long a powerful figure in revenue administration, accumulated hundreds of crores in illegal assets during his years in key posts, including Customs Intelligence.
It accuses him of maintaining ties with gold smuggling networks, extorting traders, manipulating cases, and misappropriating funds through fabricated “source money” expenditures.
The complaint further claims he laundered substantial sums abroad, including to Australia, with details of bank accounts and transfers provided. Despite these allegations, the ACC reportedly failed to take effective action, prompting the escalation of legal efforts now underway.