HC orders ACC to investigate financial anomalies in state-owned Essential Drug

UNB, Dhaka :

The High Court (HC) Sunday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the financial anomalies involving Tk 477 crore at state-owned pharmaceutical company Essential Drugs Ltd and submit its report within the next two months.

An HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after taking a newspaper report on the irregularities of the drug producing company into cognisance.

Apart from this, the court issued a rule asking the authorities concerned to explain why instruction should not be given to take legal action against the accused.

Health secretary, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) director general and others concerned were made respondents to the rule, which is returnable in four weeks.

Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state in the court.

Terming the drug manufacturing company as a haven of corruption, vernacular daily ‘Manab Zamin’ reported that Health Audit Directorate’s report has detected 32 irregularities in the organization, causing a loss of over Tk 477.41 crore in the fiscal year 2020-2021 to the government exchequer.

The irregularities included recruitment, tender business, showing less production of medicines, less use of raw materials in producing medicines and taking allowances in the name of picnic and others.

Health Audit Directorate brought 51 allegations against the company’s officials and others in their initial report.

Of them, 32 irregularities were identified as Severe Financial Irregularity (SFI).

The committee prepared the audit from February 17, 2022 to April 10 of the same year.