Nearly a decade after the Padma Bridge corruption case had been resolved, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to reopen the investigation.
The case will be reinvestigated following allegations of corruption during the construction phase, according to the ACC.
The decision was made on Tuesday at the ACC's headquarters, confirmed ACC Director General Md. Akhter Hossain.
He stated that the investigation revealed a conspiracy to facilitate SNC-Lavalin International Inc. in securing the project contract through bribery. The case was initially filed on December 17, 2012, with Banani Police Station, and a final report was submitted to the court in 2014.
The case's First Information Report (FIR) named the then Secretary of the Bridges Division Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, former Superintendent Engineer Kazi Md. Ferdous, former Executive Engineer of the Roads and Highways Department Md. Riaz Ahmed Jaber, Deputy Managing Director of EPC Muhammad Mostafa, Muhammad Ismail, former director, International Project Division, SNC-Lavalin International Inc, Ramesh Shah, former vice president, International Project Division, SNC-Lavalin International Inc and Kevin Wallace, SNC-Lavalin International Inc as the accused.
Former Communications Minister Syed Abul Hossain and former State Minister for Foreign Affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury were also named as suspects in the case but were later exonerated.
After nearly 18 months of investigation, the ACC dropped charges against the accused in 2014.
At the time, then ACC Chairman Badiuzzaman stated that the case was filed in the hope of uncovering additional information. Now, the ACC has decided to reopen the case and conduct fresh investigation.
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