ACC team to probe ex-home minister's bribery, graft

FE REPORT | Published: August 16, 2024 00:13:57

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday formed an inquiry team, led by its Deputy Director (DD) Md. Jahangir Alam, to probe bribery and corruption allegations against former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.
According to the allegations, Kamal, after taking charge of the Ministry of Home Affairs, systematically collected bribes from various departments under the ministry, ACC DD and spokesperson Md Akhtarul Islam told The Financial Express.
The bribery operations were conducted by former additional secretary Dr. Harun-Or-Rashid Biswas, joint secretary Dhananjoy Kumar Das, administrative officer Mollah Ibrahim Hossain, the minister's assistant private secretary (APS) Monir Hossain, and public relations officer Sharif Mahmud Apu.
The group, led by the former home minister, was the part of a syndicate involved in corrupt practices related to recruitment, placement, and transfer.
Dr. Biswas played a central role in the syndicate, which embezzled billions of taka. Even after retirement, he maintained control over it and continued bribery and corruption activities. The ill-gotten money was sent abroad for safeguarding, the ACC sources said.
An ACC statement, issued on Thursday, said no police officer could get appointment in important positions without the syndicate's endorsement. For getting appointment as a district superintendent of police (SP), bribe amounts ranging from Tk 10 million to Tk 30 million were taken.
Besides, to obtain a no objection certificate (NOC), each NGO had to pay an amount between Tk 8.0 million and Tk 10 million to Kamal. Before the election in 2018, Tk 8.5 million was paid for getting an NOC for a development organisation in Uttara, Dhaka. A bag full of money was handed over to one of Kamal's family members in front of their house in the capital.
During the Fire Service and Civil Defence recruitment process, a list from the minister's office was sent to the entity. On 2 October 2023, 535 individuals were appointed, including 250 from a list sent by the minister's office. It was alleged that Tk 0.8-1.2 million was taken by the Kamal syndicate as bribe for each appointment.
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