A Dhaka court has deferred until July 3 the submission of investigation reports of four graft cases involving former military advisor to the Prime Minister, Tarique Ahmed Siddique and 18 others.
The accused are charged with embezzling Tk 812 crore from four major airport development projects across the country.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the cases on January 27, accusing high-profile officials of siphoning off funds from projects at Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Sylhet’s Osmani International Airport, and Cox’s Bazar International Airport.
According to case details, Tk 200 crore was embezzled during the radar installation project under Shahjalal airport’s communication and surveillance system. Tk 250 crore was misappropriated from the third terminal expansion at the same airport. Tk 212 crore was allegedly embezzled from Sylhet Osmani Airport’s expansion. Another Tk 150 crore was misused from the terminal and runway development at Cox’s Bazar Airport.
Besides Siddique, the accused include former Senior Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism Mohibul Haque, and CAAB Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, among other senior bureaucrats and engineers.
On April 24, the scheduled date for report submission, the ACC investigation officer failed to present the findings, prompting Dhaka’s Senior Special Judge Zakir Hossain Galib to set a new date.
AL/TF
