The High Court on Sunday asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to provide the final documents of all 473 probe reports completed under ex-ACC chairman Iqbal Mahmud within February 12. The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order after hearing a suo moto rule. Advocate Khurshid Alam stood for ACC while deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state. ACC Lawyer Khurshid said the Commission under the leadership of its former chairman Iqbal Mahmud, declared the investigation of 410 allegations terminated due to lack of proof from October 10, 2020 to March 10, 2021. It also submitted the final probe reports of 63 allegations during this period.
“During hearing, the Court asked to provide the documents of all 473 investigations into allegations which were declared terminated during the tenure of the former chairman of the commission. We have explained each before the court. We also provide explanations about why the probes of 473 allegations have been closed. We will definitely submit the documents of the 473 probe reports,” he said.Deputy attorney general Amin said a report was published in a daily vernacular on the title of ‘Business of probes in ACC’ on March 14, 2021.
It is also alleged that, ACC exempted 200 people and organisations from the allegations during investigations in the last five months during the tenure of former chairman of ACC Iqbal Mahmud, he said.
According to the report it is alleged that Dilip Agarwal, owner of Diamond World, has an allegation of amassing wealth of hundreds of crores against him. The allegation against him was brought on November 23, 2020. A team of ACC-led by its deputy director Mosharraf Hossain Mridha conducted investigations into it.Besides, another allegation has been brought against officials of the same organisation that they, in collusion with others, provided the Tk 247.77 crore tender for purchasing Sales Data Controllers (SDC) Electronic Fiscal Device, Fiscal Management System (EFDMS) of National Board of Revenue (NBR) to an unfit Chinese Company.
Vat online projector deputy project director Shamim Ara Begum, deputy commissioner Khairul Alam, deputy commissioner Rabeya Khatun, NBR member and system manager Shafiqur Rahman, project director of VAT online Syed Mushfiqur Rahman, ICT Division Senior System Analyst Nabir Uddin, Bangladesh Computer Council Administrator Sumon Kumar, largest tax provider unit commissioner Mubinul Kabir, VAT and Tax Policy member Dr. Abdul Manna Shikdar were named as officials involved from the government side.
Iqbal Mahmud joined as ACC chairman on March 10, 2016 and he went on retirement on March 10, 2021.
