Audit detects embezzlement of Sadharan Bima's Tk 20m

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Rezaul Karim
A government audit unearthed a case of alleged swindling of about Taka 20 million by some 'corrupt' officials of the state-owned insurer, Sadharan Bima Corporation (SBC), through false documentation, official sources said.
The case was unearthed in a report of the government's audit committee which was recently submitted to the SBC managing director for taking necessary actions.
The SBC provides insurance coverage mostly to government businesses.
The report says the SBC stands to incur a loss of about Tk 20 million as some sections of its unscrupulous officials joined hands together to siphon off the funds.
The report says that the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) provided at least eight cheques for payment of installments to the corporation. But those cheques were deposited with a branch office of the Rupali Bank, instead of the local office.
False co-insurance policies, involving the same amount of money that were deposited, were issued against some fictitious companies, instead of the BCIC.
They thus issued co-insurance policies accounting for 49 per cent of the BCIC premiums against such fictitious institutions.
The report found six officials of the SBCs being involved in the irregularities.
Cautioning the authorities concerned about the possibility of such illegal practices continuing this year also, the report suggested that the government should take immediate action in this connection.
The accused SBC officials used the name of a Janata Bank branch at Ganaktuli and an account of a Janata Bank branch in Gazipur. But the audit report neither found any such branch at Ganaktuli nor any such account at the Gazipur branch.
However, the SBC managing director could not be contacted despite several attempts.