ACC summons Tarique Siddique
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has summoned retired Major General Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former military adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, for questioning in a case over an alleged Tk 250 crore embezzlement from the third terminal project at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
He has been asked to appear at the ACC headquarters at 10:00am on October 7.
An ACC senior official said the notice was issued on Tuesday by case investigation officer Mahmudul Hasan Shuvro, an assistant director of the commission.
The official said Tarique Siddique could not be found at his stated address, nor was anyone working under him found there. The notice was subsequently served by hanging it at the premises at 1:40pm in the presence of a security guard, the official added.
The notice was issued under Section 19 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, and Section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to record Tarique Siddique’s statement in connection with the case.
The ACC summoned him in Case No. 83 filed with its Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1. The case was filed on January 27, 2025.
According to the brief description of the case in the notice, Tarique Ahmed Siddique and other accused allegedly embezzled Tk 250 crore from the third terminal expansion project through collusion.
The ACC said his statement was necessary for a proper investigation into the allegations.
Assistant Director Mahmudul Hasan Shuvro has been appointed investigation officer to conduct the investigation and submit the testimony memorandum.
On January 27, 2025, the ACC filed four separate cases against 19 people over alleged embezzlement of a total of Tk 812 crore from various development projects at three airports.
The third terminal case, involving the alleged embezzlement of Tk 250 crore, is one of those cases and names 10 people as accused.
Besides Tarique Siddique, the accused include former senior secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahibul Haque, former joint secretary Janendranath Sarker, former Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) chairman M Mofidur Rahman, former chief engineer Abdul Malek and Superintendent Habibur Rahman.
Others named in the case are Aero Networks International owner Lutfullah Majed, managing director Mahbub Anam, project director AKM Maksudul Islam and former chief engineer Sudhendu Bikash Goswami.
According to the case statement, the work order for the third terminal project was awarded to Aviation Dhaka Consortium (ADC).
The ACC alleges that Aero Networks International was later brought into the project as a subcontractor in violation of the rules.
The case statement says the estimated cost of the project was increased from Tk 13,000 crore to Tk 21,000 crore.
The ACC alleges that the accused, acting in collusion, embezzled Tk 250 crore from the project.
On the same day, the commission filed another case over the alleged embezzlement of Tk 200 crore from a project to install radar, including the CNS-ATM system, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
Two more cases were filed over alleged corruption involving Tk 150 crore in the construction of the terminal and runway at Cox’s Bazar Airport and Tk 212 crore in a project at Sylhet Osmani International Airport.
Later, on July 17, 2025, the ACC filed four more cases against Tarique Siddique, his wife and two daughters over alleged acquisition of assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.
In the case against Tarique Siddique, the ACC alleged that he acquired Tk 28.59 crore in assets beyond his known sources of income.
The commission also alleged suspicious transactions amounting to Tk 62,00,60,983 through four bank accounts linked to him.
Tarique Ahmed Siddique served as Sheikh Hasina’s military adviser from 2009.
Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5 amid a mass uprising, the ACC began investigating corruption allegations involving members of her family as well.
Tarique Ahmed Siddique was also named, along with Sheikh Hasina, among those facing arrest warrants issued by the International Crimes Tribunal in a case concerning enforced disappearances.
