Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) officials on Thursday detained a project implementation officer and his office assistant with one lakh taka in bribe in Sonagazi upazila of Feni.

The arrested officials are Mohammad Al Saeed, project implementation officer (PIO), and office assistant Abu Naser.

The ACC team raided the PIO office from afternoon to evening and recovered the money in bundles of Tk 1,000-notes.

The operation was led by Faruk Ahmad, Deputy Director of ACC’s Feni-Noakhali zone, with an eight-member team.

The raid followed a bribery complaint by contractor Humayun Kabir, who said he was forced to pay five lakh taka to release government project bills.

When asked for another one lakh taka, he reported the matter to the ACC.

ACC Assistant Director Chinmoy Chakraborty filed a case over the incident.

It is alleged that the project implementation officer, who has worked in the upazila office for a long time, used to collect bribes at a percentage rate in the name of implementing government projects.

The detained officer was reckless in taking bribes with the assistance of Upazila Executive Officer Reagan Chakma.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government, during the unusual political situation, he allegedly took crores of taka in bribes from government projects.

There are also allegations that he embezzled funds by showing fake projects.

Sonagazi Upazila Executive Officer Reagan Chakma said he was not present in his office at the time of the incident, as he had gone home on leave.

He said he has heard about the matter and will be able to provide details after collecting more information.