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Download PDF A taskforce of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) to Combat Corruption and Serious Crimes, designated to investigate graft in Titas Gas, sent to the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) a list of alleged illegal properties of 68 former and present staff of the agency.
The total value of the listed illegally earned properties primarily was estimated at somewhere between Tk 9,000 crore and Tk 10,000 crore.
The 68 implicated staff include 15 out of the 136 who had earlier confessed to the taskforce that they had been involved in large scale corruption, and had also promised to handover their illegally amassed wealth to the government.
The list of properties of the 15 was sent to the ACC due to their failure to handover their illegally amassed wealth to the government despite their earlier promise to do so.
The 53 other implicated staff, whose list of properties was also sent to the ACC, however had not confessed to being involved in corruption.
The total value of illegally earned wealth of the allegedly corrupt Titas staff was primarily estimated at somewhere between Tk 9,000 crore and Tk 10,000 by the taskforce, but taskforce officials said the numbers might change based on further findings.
Former sales assistant of the energy agency, Abdul Kadir Mollah, alone owns properties worth Tk 2,100 crore while former meter reader also a former CBA leader Abul Kshem owns properties worth Tk 300 crore.
Meter reader Mahbubur Rahman owns properties worth Tk 250 crore, technician Habibur Rahman owns properties worth Tk 200 crore, former deputy manager Md Emdadul Huq is worth Tk 100 crore, superviser Sohrab Hossain Sikder owns properties worth Tk 50 crore, welder Foyez Ahmmed has properties worth Tk 40 crore, while former receptionist Olifa Akhter, who had also been promoted illegally to the post of deputy general manager of the IT department, has properties worth Tk 30 crore.
The taskforce also found that each of the remaining implicated Titas staff owns properties worth at least Tk 1 crore.
The Daily Star already published details of the illegally earned properties of former sales assistant Abdul Kadir Mollah, former deputy manager Emdadul Huq, and former receptionist Olifa Akhter.
According to the wealth information provided to the taskforce by former meter reader Abul Kashem, he owns 74 acres of land in Narsinghdi and North Bengal, 12 kathas of land in Uttara Model Town of the capital, a paper mill on a 10 bigha land in Narsinghdi, falts in Uttara, and bank a balance of several crores of taka.
Meter reader Mahbubur Rahman owns a 3-storey building in Goran of the capital, another 3-storey building in Demra, a chemical factory in Shibpur of Narsinghdi, a 2,000 square feet flat in New Bailey Road area of the capital, three acres of land in Kararchar of Narsinghdi, and savings of over Tk 50 lakh in various banks.
Technician Habibur Rahman owns a 5-storey building on a five katha land in South Goran, another 6-storey building on a 5 katha land in South Banasree of the capital, about four acres of land in Chandpur, and savings of over Tk 30 lakh in various banks.
Supervisor Sohrab Hossain has a three katha land in Gulshan of the capital, a five katha land in Uttara, a 30 katha land in Laxmipur, and savings of about 10 lakh taka in several banks.
Assistant Coordinator Sultan Alam has two shops and 10 kathas of land in Savar, four acres of land in Joypurhat, and savings of Tk 20 lakh in different banks.
Taskforce sources said the implicated Titas staff themselves submitted their wealth statements, which the taskforce found to be untrue.
Taskforce officials said they interrogated 450 former and present staff of Titas, 136 of whom admitted to their involvement in corruption and promised to handover their illegally amassed properties to the government.
Following the promise, 117 already handed over their illegally earned properties to the government, signing undertakings with the taskforce where they said they will never ever get involved in corruption.
Corrupt Titas Gas staff amassed the illegal properties through multi-pronged corruption including theft, abuse of power, taking of bribes in exchange for giving jobs to incompetent people, and nepotism.
Lt Col ATM Hasan, commanding officer (CO) of the taskforce, yesterday said, “Handing over of properties illegally amassed by Titas staff, proves that corruption was actually committed in the agency, the range of which was so widespread that even class four employees also became millionaires.”
“Unearthing of the corruption in Titas Gas sheds light on similar corruption being committed in other government service sectors,” said the CO adding that he was assisted by Capt Md Anwarul Islam, Capt Sohana Sabrin, and Capt Hanifur Rahman Bhuiyan in the investigation.
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