Ex-ETV Chairman Salam sued over embezzlement

Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against former Chairman of Ekushey Television Abdus Salam on charges of misappropriation of around Tk 340 million from the private TV channel’s account.
Deputy Director of ACC Shamsul Alam filed the case with Tejgaon Model Police Station against Salam under the Panel Code on Wednesday morning, ACC Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya said. According to the ACC’s probe report, Salam, who is currently in jail, swindled out about Tk 34 crore preparing fake business promotion bill, legal and professional fees, medical expenses, hotel expenses, foreign tour and satellite charge of the TV channel from September 2004 to December 2015 when he was the chairman of the channel.
Salam was arrested on January 6, 2015 in a case filed against him under the Pornography Control Act in November 2014. Earlier, the ACC on Tuesday approved a proposal for filing the case against him.
An ACC official, wishing anonymity, told The New Nation there was also money-laundering allegations against Salam. “He siphoned off funds to purchase ETV stakes from its foreign shareholder Citicorp (International Finance Corporation). The matter is, however, under investigation stage,” he said.