ACC files case against six, including three ex-BTRC Chairmen

Bangla Press Desk:   The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against six former senior officials — including three former chairmen of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

ACC Director Jalal Uddin Ahmed filed the case on Tuesday over allegations of causing a revenue loss of Tk9,010.74 crore to the government by unlawfully changing international incoming call termination rates in favour of IGW operators.

ACC Public Relations Officer Md Akhtarul Islam confirmed the matter.

Those named in the case include former BTRC chairmen and former ACC commissioner Md Zahurul Haque, Sunil Kanti Bose and Dr Shahjahan Mahmood; former BTRC vice-chairman Brig Gen (Retd) Md Ahsan Habib Khan; and former commissioners Md Rezaul Kader and Md Aminul Hasan.

According to the case statement, termination rates and revenue-sharing percentages — originally fixed for one year on a temporary, experimental basis — were unlawfully continued for 28 months from October 2015 to January 2018, allowing IGW operators undue financial benefits.

The ACC alleges that manipulation of revenue-sharing ratios caused losses of Tk383.73 crore, while bringing calls at reduced rates resulted in a further loss of Tk2,941.99 crore. Additionally, failure to bring calls at government-approved rates deprived the state of USD 721.10 million (Tk5,685.01 crore) in foreign currency earnings.

In total, the alleged irregularities caused a financial loss of Tk9,010.74 crore to the state. The case has been filed under Penal Code sections 409 and 418, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947, and Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012.

BP/TD