The High Court (HC) on Tuesday directed law enforcement and regulatory bodies to launch an in-depth investigation into allegations of massive financial fraud involving K-Telecom, a company previously owned by the family of former Awami League MP Shamim Osman.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) have been given 90 days to complete their investigation and submit a detailed report.
The ruling came after Sakhawat Hossain, a small business owner, filed a writ petition upon discovering that he had been falsely named as a shareholder and managing director of K-Telecom, a firm that reportedly owes the Bangladesh government Tk 126 crore.
A High Court bench comprising Justice Fatema Najib and Justice Shikdar Mahmudur Raji also issued a rule questioning why the authorities' failure to take action on the petitioner's request should not be declared illegal.
The court has instructed the secretary of the posts and telecommunications ministry, the home secretary, the BTRC chairman, the registrar of joint stock companies, the governor of Bangladesh Bank, the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the CID chief, the inspector general of police (IGP), the officer-in-charge (OC) of Banani Police Station, and five members of Shamim Osman's family to respond to the rule within four weeks.
Advocate Mohammad Shishir Monir represented the petitioner in court. The writ petition was filed based on a report published in a national daily on January 14, titled "Tk 126 crore owed to govt: Osman family's unthinkable fraudulence."
According to the newspaper report, Sakhawat Hossain, who operates a small travel agency from a rented office in Fakirapool, Dhaka, was falsely listed as a shareholder and Managing Director of K-Telecom, later renamed International Voice Tel Ltd.
This company held an International Gateway (IGW) licence, enabling it to handle international call traffic to Bangladesh.
BTRC records indicate that K-Telecom owes over Tk 126 crore to the government. To evade this liability, BTRC has filed a lawsuit against the company's owners. However, Sakhawat claims he was unaware of his involvement until BTRC officials, accompanied by local police, visited his ancestral home in Rangunia, Chattogram, on October 18 last year.
The company was originally owned by the family of former MP Shamim Osman. His wife, Salma Osman, and son, Imtinan Osman, obtained K-Telecom's IGW licence in 2012 for a 15-year period.
Additionally, Shamim Osman's brother-in-law Tanvir Ahmed and close associates Joynal Abedin Molla and Jahangir Hossain Molla held stakes in the company.
Documents reveal that on August 4, 2013, the Osman family transferred ownership of K-Telecom to three individuals-Sakhawat Hossain, Debabrata Choudhury, a schoolteacher from Sylhet, and Rakibul Islam, an office assistant from Bogura-without their knowledge or consent.
All three claim they had no prior knowledge of this transaction and that their names were used fraudulently.
BTRC and other sources allege that the Osman family hurriedly transferred ownership to avoid repaying the government dues. The process involved falsified documents and fake photographs. Concerns have been raised over potential collusion between regulatory authorities and the Osman family.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on August 05 last year, the Osman family has reportedly gone into hiding. Efforts to obtain comments from Shamim Osman have been unsuccessful.
After Awami League came to power in 2009, several IGW licences were issued, making international call termination a lucrative business. Among the beneficiaries were party leaders such as Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Shamsul Haque Tuku, and Shamim Osman.
Licence holders were required to pay a fee and share a portion of their revenue with BTRC. However, many companies allegedly failed to make these payments and eventually shut down operations.
BTRC records indicate that six IGW companies collectively owe the government over Tk 921 crore. The regulator filed a case against K-Telecom on June 22, 2014 to recover its dues. Investigators visited the newly listed 'owners' in 2023 and 2024.
Rakibul Islam, one of the individuals fraudulently listed as a shareholder, said he had no idea how he became an owner of K-Telecom. He worked at a garment factory in Savar from 2006 to 2017 and is now employed as an office assistant at a small contracting firm in Bogura. In May 2024, BTRC officials visited his home to verify his identity and financial status.
He suspects his National ID card was misused for this fraudulent transaction. He also revealed that his ID had been used previously to open unauthorised mobile financial service (MFS) accounts.
Debabrata Choudhury, a government schoolteacher in Sylhet's Golapganj area, was arrested in February 2023 after BTRC traced his name to the company records.
Following protests by his students, he was released on a written undertaking the next day. He has been employed at MC Academy since 2003 and lives in a rented two-room flat with his wife in Sylhet city.
