Padma graft: R&H official sent to jail

The executive engineer of Roads and Highways Department was sent to jail Wednesday afternoon after his surrender before a Dhaka court in connection with corruption in Padma bridge project. Reaz Ahmed Zaber and six others stand accused for conspiring to commit bribery in the project. Complying with a High Court directive, Zaber surrendered before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka in the morning and placed a bail petition. Meanwhile, Mirza Zahidul Alam, a deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), filed a 10-day remand prayer for him. While holding an important government office, Zaber smuggled out important information to Canadian firm SNC Lavalin, the ACC official said during the remand prayer. Zaber faxed the documents to SNC Lavalin, he added. After hearing both the sides, Metropolitan Magistrate Mostafa Shahriar Khan rejected the bail prayer and ordered to send Zaber to jail. The court will hear the remand prayer on March 24. On March 6, Zaber surrendered before the High Court and sought anticipatory bail in the case. But the court denied him bail and advised him to surrender before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka. On December 17 last year, the ACC filed the case with Banani Police Station against Zaber and six others for conspiring to commit bribery in the project. The six other accused in the case are: former secretary of the Bridges Division Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Superintendent Engineer of Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) Kazi Mohammad Ferdous, Deputy Managing Director of Engineering and Planning Consultant, SNC Lavalin’s local agent, Mohammad Mostofa and SNC Lavalin officials Mohammad Ismail, Ramesh Shah and Kevin Wales. The World Bank cancelled its $1.2 billion funding for the project on June 29 this year, saying it had proof of a "corruption conspiracy" involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of the Canadian firm and some individuals. Responding to a request by Bangladesh government, the global lender on September 21 decided to revive the loan after the government agreed to the World Bank's terms and conditions. However, the government, on January 31, withdrew its request for loan revival and the lender agreed. THE CHARGES While Mosharraf Hossain has been accused of "deliberately dissolving" four times the evaluation committee for selecting a supervision consultant, his boss, former communications minister Syed Abul Hossain, was mysteriously exempted from the charge. SNC Lavalin official Ramesh Shah had mentioned in his diary Abul Hossain as the recipient of 4 percent out of 10 percent (Tk 38 crore) bribe from the supervision work money, sources said. According to the case statement, former secretary Mosharraf dissolved the evaluation committee four times between January and June 2010 in efforts to award the consulting job to the company of his choice. He became head of the fourth evaluation committee, violating WB's consulting Services Manual of 2006. The manual states that all member of such a committee should have 10 years' experience in the relevant field, which the secretary lacked. Kazi Mohammad Ferdous of BBA and Mosharraf prepared a flawed evaluation report to award the job first to a Japanese firm, Oriental Consultation Company Ltd, project director Rafiqul Islam told the ACC inquiry team during interrogation. Ishtiak Ahmed, who was a member of the fourth committee, also gave similar statements when he was called by the ACC to testify. However, Ferdous and Mosharraf failed to give the work to the Japanese company in the face of opposition from the other members of the committee. Mosharraf then set for favouring SNC Lavalin. He along with the six accused persons hatched the conspiracy, the case statement says. They provided SNC Lavalin with secret information regarding the tender. Despite frantic efforts, Mosharraf could not convince the other members of the evaluation committee to select SNC Lavalin. Failed again, he dissolved the committee and reconstituted it for the fifth time with Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury as the convener on November 4, 2010. Ferdous for his part gave more points to SNC Lavalin while evaluating its documents to facilitate selection of the firm. He also exchanged secret information with Lavalin through emails between May and June 2010. Quoting an email sent by Mostafa to Kevin Wales in June, 2011, the case statement said the bridge authority recommended Lavalin without proper verification of its documents and work history. When Ismail was sacked from Lavalin, Mosharraf wanted to hold an emergency meeting with Kevin Wales and others. Accordingly a meeting was held on May 5, 2011. Abul Hossain, Mosharraf, Kevin Wales and Mostafa participated in the meeting in the capital. Following the talks, the bridge authority on June 19, 2011 sent recommendation for work order in favour of SNC Lavalin, said the case document. Abul Hossain also held several meetings with SNC Lavalin officials, which former state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury arranged. The three SNC Lavalin officials tried to bribe several public and private officials to get the work order but the WB by that time raised allegation of corruption in the project, the case statement added. Ramesh's diary seized by the Canadian police also mentioned the names of Abul Hasan, Musharraf and others who were to be bribed. But the ACC is yet to get circumstantial evidence to prove it.