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Wednesday | November 11, 2026 | Dhaka

JS panel seeks action over Biman irregularities

 Staff Reporter
 Published: 12:01 AM, 11 November 2026

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Undertakings on Tuesday directed Biman Bangladesh Airlines to identify those responsible for financial irregularities, misuse of public funds and revenue losses, and take necessary legal action against them.

The directives came at a progress review meeting on the committee’s sixth meeting, held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with its Chairman and Chief Whip Md Nurul Islam Moni in the chair.

The committee reviewed the implementation of its earlier recommendations and discussed audit objections, irregularities in aircraft procurement and operations, weaknesses in reservation and passenger services, revenue collection anomalies and losses from operating unprofitable routes, according to a Parliament Secretariat press release.

It expressed particular concern over Biman’s decision to purchase two 15-year-old Dash-8 aircraft taken on lease, despite its procurement policy prohibiting the purchase of old aircraft.

The committee also raised questions about the operational expenses and alleged waste of public money arising from the decision. It directed Biman to submit, within 15 days to one month, a list of members of the then board of directors and procurement committee involved in the purchase and related decisions.

The airline was also asked to determine responsibility for the misuse of public funds and initiate legal action against those responsible.

The meeting was informed that weaknesses in Biman’s Departure Control System and Rapid software had caused substantial revenue losses, according to audit findings.

The audit found that passengers on international flights were upgraded from economy to business class after paying the required charges, but the additional revenue was not recorded in Biman’s accounting system.

To prevent such irregularities and revenue leakage, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) has launched a comprehensive IT audit of the airline. The committee directed Biman to provide auditors with all relevant data and information covering July to October this year.

The committee also examined losses incurred from operating routes without proper commercial feasibility assessments. It asked Biman to submit relevant board decisions and detailed income and expenditure statements for each route.

Another issue involved payments to Sabre, the provider of Biman’s Passenger Service System. Allegations were raised that the airline had paid the full contractual amount despite the company failing to deliver all the agreed work.

The committee directed Biman authorities and the audit department to jointly submit a written report on the matter within seven days.

Regarding the two leased Dash-8 aircraft, the committee noted that Biman had failed to produce relevant contracts and bills for the expenses incurred against them during the audit. It instructed the airline to submit all supporting documents within 15 days. Biman officials assured the committee that they would comply within the stipulated period.

The committee also reviewed an audit objection over alleged understatement of chartered cargo flight fares on the Dhaka-Guangzhou route during the COVID-19 pandemic, which reportedly resulted in additional revenue not being deposited into the government treasury.

It directed Biman to complete an internal investigation within one month and submit a detailed report, identifying those involved and taking administrative and legal action against them.

The meeting was further informed that 111 unresolved audit objections involving around Tk 753.50 crore remained pending against Biman for the period between 1996 and 2021.

Of the 45 audit objections related to the recovery of money, the audit department rejected Biman’s claims regarding eight objections because the airline failed to provide valid bank statements as evidence of the alleged recoveries.

The committee also discussed outstanding dues and instructed Biman to submit a report within one month, outlining a time-bound plan to settle audit objections, recover outstanding amounts and update the status of relevant cases and legal proceedings.

It stressed the need to strengthen financial discipline, resolve audit objections promptly, recover lost revenue and ensure accountability for those involved in irregularities and corruption.

The committee also directed Biman to take effective measures to become a corruption-free, technologically modern, efficient and profitable organisation.

Committee members and Whips Miah Nuruddin Ahmad Apu and Md Akhtaruzzaman Mia, along with MPs Mst Tahsina Rushdir, Khondoker Abu Ashfaque, Mohamed Koysor Ahmed, Bishwas Jahangir Alam, Mohammad Nazibur Rahman and Mohammad Kamal Hossain, attended the meeting.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, Secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, Managing Director of Biman Bangladesh Airlines and senior officials from the Parliament Secretariat, ministry and airline were also present.