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The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has found preliminary evidence of the embezzlement of around Tk6.32 crore through fake bills and tender manipulation in a project to construct a record building for the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
The evidence emerged during an ACC enforcement operation conducted at the Dhaka Public Works Division-4 on Wednesday.
ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Aktarul Islam said a review of documents collected during the operation revealed irregularities in the project titled “Construction of Record Building for Bangladesh Supreme Court.”
The main work order for the project had been awarded to National Development Engineers Ltd (NDEL). However, the project was allegedly divided into eight separate packages without approval and in violation of regulations.
The ACC found that through manipulation of the e-GP tendering process, bills totalling Tk6.31 crore were paid in the names of eight other contractors.
The investigation found that at least four of the eight packages had no physical existence. No contracts or measurement books were found for those packages.
Although work under the remaining four packages was physically visible, the ACC found that the work had actually been completed by the original contractor, NDEL. Despite this, payments were made in the names of the newly selected contractors, resulting in the alleged embezzlement of public funds.
In one of the packages, the tender was reportedly approved without the required approval of the supervising engineer, in disregard of government rules and procedures.
According to ACC sources, former executive engineer Md Saifuzzaman has been preliminarily identified as being involved in the alleged irregularities.
The ACC is preparing a report recommending a detailed investigation to establish the full extent of the alleged corruption and record statements from the accused.
