Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina who fled the country, was a Canadian citizen when she joined the World Health Organisation (WHO) as Regional Director of Southeast Asia based in New Delhi.
This information was given by The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday.
The ACC said that has taken several steps against Saima Wazed Putul for alleged misuse of state resources and illegally appointing her as the regional director of the WHO.
Initial investigation by the ACC into the allegations reveals that state resources were misused for illegally appointing Saima Wazed Putul as WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia nominated by Bangladesh.
ACC said that review of information obtained from various sources shows that Saima Wazed Putul was accompanied on several official state trips without any justifiable reason. Furthermore, the qualifications provided for her candidacy were not accurate. It has also been revealed that at the time of the nomination, she was a Canadian citizen.
According to the ACC, at the 76th WHO conference, over a hundred officials and delegates from Bangladesh attended the event in Delhi from October 30 to November 2, 2023, misusing state funds. In this regard, Saima Wazed Putul caused significant financial loss to the Bangladesh government by abusing her family's influence and the misuse of state power by her close relatives.
On January 19, the ACC sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs questioning Saima Wazed Putul's position WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia. The ACC said on January 12, a corruption case was filed against Putul. Detailed documents, including the First Information Report (FIR) of the case , were attached with the letter sent to the foreign office.
ACC also said that former prime minister Sheikh Hasina is accused of unethically using her power to get her daughter, Saima Wazed Putul appointed as WHO Regional Director of South-East Asia, though her lacked the necessary qualifications. Following the verification of initial information regarding the allegation, the ACC has decided to hold an investigation, which is ongoing.
