Thousands of crore taka have been laundered through licensing scheme for international communication services, say officials from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The licenses, issued in 2012 by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), were granted based on political influence.
A total of 153 tenders for international communication licenses were submitted, including 43 International Gateway (IGW) licenses, 59 International Internet Gateway (IIG) licenses, and 51 International Connection Exchange (ICX) licenses. At the time, Rajiuddin Ahmed served as the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.
According to the ACC, the licenses were used as a cover for large-scale financial irregularities, with influential figures allegedly profiting from the scheme. Notable political figures, including former MP such as Shamim Osman and Jahangir Kabir Nanak, have been implicated in taking these licenses through intermediaries, allowing them to operate businesses under anonymous names.
BTRC sources revealed that the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications recommended licenses for 85 organizations to facilitate foreign call exchanges. However, many of these licenses were granted based on political affiliations rather than merit, with legitimate businesses often left out of the process. In some cases, individuals who received the licenses later sold them for profit, leading to further allegations of corruption.
A person named Mehdi Hasan placed an advertisement on February 12, 2012 for the sale of the gateway license. In that advertisement, he said, the much desired IGW, ICX and IIG licenses approved by BTRC are now within your reach. The number of salable companies is 8 with IGW, 6 with ICX and 16 with IIG.
According to ACC source, an International Gateway (IGW) operator went missing in 2014 after not paying more than 100 crore taka to the government. The company called 'K Telecommunications Limited' no longer exists where it used to be. BTRC issued a notice on May 20 of that year without finding the whereabouts of the company. Then on June 22, a case was registered against the company at Banani police station in the capital.
The company was known as a family firm of former MP Shamim Osman. After the company applied for an IGW license in December 2011, its owners were Shamim Osman's wife Selima Osman (Chairman), son Imtian Osman, brother-in-law Tanveer Ahmed (Managing Director), Shamim Osman's close friend Keith Concern's owner Zainal Abedin Molla and Jahangir Hossain Molla were named in BTRC's books for nearly three years.
On August 4, 2013, these names were changed. Shakhawat Hossain, Debbrat Chowdhury and Rakibul Islam were written. But the existence of these people was not found. The address given to them was also fake. As a result, many people think that the change of ownership is a mystery.
The government and BTRC owe Tk 103 crore 10 lakh 332.64 to the company. Among them, the revenue from foreign call exchange is Tk 88 crore 44 lakh 12 thousand 626.64, VAT on annual license fee is Tk 1 crore 12 lakh 50 thousand and delay fee is Tk 6 crore 3 lakh 37 thousand 696 taka.
Meanwhile, on May 26 this year, the ACC filed a case against the chairman and managing director of International Telephone Call (IGW) service company Bestek Telecom Limited and the deputy director of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) on charges of smuggling around Tk 200 crore.
The director of Khulna divisional office of the organization Jalal Uddin Ahmed filed the case in the integrated district office, Dhaka-1. Chairman of Bestek Telecom Limited, Tariqul Islam, Managing Director Enayet Kabir and Hasibul Kabir, Deputy Director of Finance, Accounts and Revenue Branch of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission have been made accused. They were charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
According to the concerned ACC officials in the inquiry about the license of the international gateway, the involvement of influential political leaders has been found in the case of smuggling thousands of crores of taka through the international gateway. The investigation is over, there are going to be some cases in the future in these cases.
(Translated by Tanvir Raihan)
