A parliamentary standing committee has found that Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) allowed specialists to take commission on gross income rather than on profit from diagnostic tests in violation of government rules, and has directed the university to recover the excess amount paid.

The findings emerged from a government audit and were disclosed by Syed Abdullah Mohammad Taher, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Accounts and Deputy Leader of the Opposition, after the committee's first meeting on Tuesday.

He briefed reporters in the tunnel of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

Taher said eight audit objections concerning BMU were discussed at the meeting.

Some objections were settled on the spot, while others have been referred to a sub-committee headed by member Mahbubur Rahman for on-the-ground investigation, with a report due within a week.

The sub-committee also includes member Fazle Huda and the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services.

Explaining the irregularity, Taher said government rules entitle specialists to a 30 percent commission on profit from tests conducted at BMU, but the university had instead been paying them 30 percent of total income.

He illustrated this with an example: if Tk 100 was earned against Tk 90 in costs, specialists should receive commission only on the Tk 10 profit, not on the full Tk 100.

He said the discrepancy runs into several crore taka, and the committee has clearly directed that this amount be recovered "by any means", calling it a clear irregularity.

He expressed hope the university authorities would recover the funds and submit monthly reports to the committee on the amount recovered, as well as monthly compliance reports confirming commissions are being disbursed correctly going forward.

Taher said the committee's principal task is to review present and past government expenditure flagged in audit objections, identify irregularities, and recommend action where corruption is found.

Describing the Public Accounts Committee as a quasi-judicial body, he noted that while it does not have the authority in Bangladesh to issue on-the-spot rulings as in some countries, ministries are obliged to give due weight to its recommendations.

He said the committee would work to curb corruption in the country through its efforts.

Noting that many old audit cases have been submitted, Taher said the committee does not intend to go too far into the past, but will primarily target the near past — roughly the 2024-25 period, given that audits typically take one to one-and-a-half years to complete — so that the findings have bearing on those currently in office.

He said audits concerning the current government's tenure would be taken up somewhat later, for which directives have already been issued.

He added that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has been instructed to prioritise and list major cases of corruption and irregularity, which the committee will then take up as agenda items for investigation.

Taher said the first meeting also discussed audits from the tenure of the previous "authoritarian" government, adding that reviews from the interim government's period, and now the current government's, would follow once respective audits are completed.

Responding to a question, he said audit objections arising after the current government's first year in office would also be taken up, along with any unresolved objections from previous administrations, stressing that the committee takes the matter "very seriously".