Coal Power Project: ACC arrests 3 over Tk 19cr embezzlement

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday arrested three persons, including two government staff, in a case accusing them and 32 others of allegedly misappropriating Tk 19.82 crore from the Matarbari coal-fired power project in 2014.

Moreover, ACC is planning to file a case against an employee of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) for not mentioning of having spent Tk 14 lakh in his tax return.

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Mohammad Fakhrul Islam, the then surveyor at the Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner's (DC) Office and at present stationed at the Chittagong DC office, was arrested in Chatteshwari road of Chittagong by ACC Deputy Director Syed Ahmed.

Abul Kashem Majumdar, a clerk at the Cox's Bazar DC Office, and advocate Nur Mohammad Sikdar were arrested by the same in Cox's Bazar.

The statement of the case filed with Cox's Bazar Sadar Model Police Station on December 7, 2014 says the accused got around Tk 46.24 crore sanctioned as compensation for acquiring land, showing 25 non-existent shrimp enclosures in Cox's Bazar.

The accused drew Tk 19.82 crore through 20 cheques and attempted to misappropriate another Tk 3.49 crore, reads the statement.

RAJUK EMPLOYEE

Md Khairuzzaman stated of spending Tk 1.35 crore for his six-storied building in the capital's Uttara -- Tk 11 lakh for the three-katha plot on Road 10 in Sector 10 allotted to him through a Rajuk scheme in 2005 and the rest behind the construction.

However his wealth statement submitted to ACC says the figure is Tk 1,08,26,250. 

ACC Deputy Director Abu Nasir in an inquiry beginning on July 18, 2016 found out from Public Works Department that the amount should have been Tk 1,49,79,725, ACC Public Relations Officer Pranab Kumar Bhattacharjee told The Daily Star.

Khairuzzaman, who joined Rajuk around 20 years back as a building inspector and is now the authorised officer of zone-2, claims the building is still under construction, for which the amount he mentioned was lower than what ACC found.

He said he took Tk 50 lakh as loan from Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation and the rest came from the sale of some inherited property and a flat to his brother.

He refused give details of the property and flat.

“I'm a graduate. There are many in Rajuk who even can not sign their name but live a life more lavish than mine,” he said.