United News of Bangladesh

Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Monday categorically said the government did not interfere in Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) activities related to the launching of a probe against six senior officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR). “Definitely, there is no interference from the government side,” Dr Salehuddin said. The Finance Adviser made the remark while responding to a question after officially announcing the successful completion of the budget preparation for 72 institutions for the current year using the State-Owned Enterprises (SoE) and Autonomous Bodies (AB) Budget, Reporting and Evaluation Database (SABRE+) at his Finance Division office. NBR staff body terms meeting with Dr Salehuddin 'unsuccessful' The ACC on Sunday launched the probe on what they called ‘on charges of corruption, abuse of power and nepotism in facilitating illegal benefits for individuals and institutions over the past two decades.’ The six officials under investigation are: AKM Badiul Alam, Member (Income Tax Policy); Mirza Ashiq Rana, Additional Tax Commissioner, Tax Zone-8, Dhaka; Mohammad Morshed Uddin Khan, Joint Tax Commissioner, BCS Tax Academy; Monalisa Shahreen Sushmita, Deputy Tax Commissioner, Tax Zone-16, Dhaka; Hasan Tarek Rikabdar, Additional Commissioner, Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, VAT, Dhaka; and Sadhan Kumar Kundu, Additional Commissioner, Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka (South). The Finance Adviser, however, said there is reason to consider why the investigation has started at such a time when they are in a protest programme. “But this is not only in NBR, there are so many people around the country against whom the ACC is running their investigations,” he said. Salehuddin stresses good governance in public investment Among the six people, Hasan Tarek serves as the president of the NBR Reform Unity Parishad, which was leading a movement seeking structural reform of the board instead of its dissolution. According to the ACC, the officials allegedly accepted bribes in exchange for reducing tax liabilities and, in some cases, filed false cases against business owners when demands for bribes were not met. The Adviser said the revenue loss that happened due to the agitation programmes was just ‘unfortunate.’ “This is not acceptable at all, you might have a problem with the government, but it does not mean you will shut down a national service,” he said. He also mentioned that shutting down ports is not acceptable as these entities are not a private property. “And you are paid by the government,” he added. The Finance Adviser said the government has formed a five-member adviser-level committee to suggest ways to resolve the stalemate centering the reforms in the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The committee will be led by Energy Adviser Fouzul Kabir Khan while the other members included Housing and Public Works Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Labour and Employment Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan and Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin. “They will place their recommendations and we will look into those,” he said. He also urged NBR officials and employees to work with sincerity to offset the revenue shortfall caused by their protest programmes.  

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday conducted a drive at Nalitabari branch of Agrani Bank to probe allegation that loans meant for farmers have been withdrawn through fraud. Deputy Director of ACC Public relation office Muhammad Arif Sadeq told UNB that the enforcement team of Integrated District Office, Tangail led by Deputy Director Jitendra Nath visited the spot and questioned the concerned including the branch manager Suman Chandra Karmakar about the allegations and recorded their statements. Read: ACC sues 10 people on embezzlement charge The team checked the documents of the fake loan and recorded the statements of fake loan receivers, the spokesperson also said. The ACC has already filed two cases against the accused on corruption charges, which are currently in the process of approval of the chargesheet. Read: ACC investigating Hefazat leaders Babunagri, Mamunul for graft, fund embezzlement According to the case, Branch Manager of the bank withdrew the dedicated loan allocated for the farmers creating fake National Identify Card (NID) in the name of farmers. The ACC Enforcement Team will submit a final report to the Commission along with the necessary recommendations after verifying all the information and evidence obtained in the operation.