Zahid Maleque, who led Bangladesh’s health ministry for a decade under the ousted Awami League government — first as state minister (2014–2018) and later as full minister until the 2024 election — stands accused of turning the ministry into a hub of corruption and self-enrichment. Instead of improving public health, he allegedly crippled the very system he was meant to protect. Under his watch, widespread graft and misuse of funds reportedly drove the health sector into a state of collapse, with his corruption reaching new heights after he assumed full ministerial power.
According to the Health Sector Reform Commission report published on 7 May, some hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic paid up to 300% inflated prices for protective gear. Under Maleque’s leadership, unnecessary and substandard infrastructure was built in the health sector, wasting vast sums of public money. The ministry allegedly created artificial demands for overpriced medical equipment and misused funds for construction projects. Unauthorized payments were also reportedly made in exchange for private hospital and clinic licenses.
A 2024 joint study by Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) found that, over the past 25 years, the rise in development budgets for the health ministry attracted lobbying from powerful groups seeking construction projects. Even senior officials and ministers allegedly used these decisions for political favors. As a result, politically influential figures and contractors dictated where and what type of structures would be built — leading to unnecessary, low-quality facilities. While the number of new buildings increased, a lack of maintenance funding left many existing institutions non-functional.
Sources from the health ministry and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said that during the pandemic, 51 contracting firms supplied medical and protective equipment without following government rules. In the final three years of the regime, companies reportedly had to pay commissions ranging from 10% to 25% to secure supply contracts. Of this, 12–15% allegedly went to former minister Zahid Maleque’s son, Rahat Maleque Shuvro.
Analysis of DGHS procurement records shows that from 2021 to 2024, a total of 72 tenders worth over Tk 318.87 crore were awarded, with 24 firms repeatedly receiving the contracts. In 2021–22 alone, Tk 142.80 crore was spent, followed by Tk 119.10 crore in 2022–23 and Tk 56.96 crore in 2023–24.
A key figure in these scandals, contractor Motazzarul Islam Mithu — known as a “don” in the health sector — ran Technocrat Ltd, which was blacklisted for corruption. He then opened around 20 new companies under relatives’ names to continue his business. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) recently arrested Mithu, who reportedly confessed during interrogation to details of Maleque and his son’s involvement in widespread looting.
Documents also reveal large-scale irregularities in foreign training programs. The health ministry issued government orders for 426 participants across 31 training packages in 19 subjects. Official records show expenses of Tk 4.98 crore for allowances, Tk 2.27 crore for airfares, and Tk 14.37 crore for training and institutional development — totaling Tk 21.72 crore. Each participant’s institutional development cost was shown as USD 4,000, double the average USD 1,500–2,000 spent in previous years. As a result, Tk 7–8 crore was allegedly embezzled. Funds were reportedly sent to unrelated bank accounts abroad, with excess amounts repatriated via hundi (illegal money transfer).
On 14 January, 2020, the ACC summoned Zahid Maleque’s APS, Arifur Rahman Sekh, for questioning over the matter. The next day, he was removed from his position — yet with Maleque’s backing, he soon became an influential policymaker within the ministry.
Officials say the procurement “syndicate” was led by Rahat Maleque Shuvro, aided by DGHS officials Prof. Dr. Mazharul Haque Tapon and Prof. Dr. Nazmul Islam. Tapon, previously close to former health minister Mohammad Nasim, adapted his loyalties with the change of leadership. The network also included Technocrat Ltd’s Mithu, Zaher Uddin Sarkar of Genesis Trading Company, Mazbahul Kabir of OMC Health Care, Abdur Razzak of JMI Syringe & Medical Devices Ltd, and Munshi Sajjad Hossain of Ahmed Enterprise.
Investigations found that regardless of political affiliation, no contractor could secure a deal without paying Shuvro–Tapon’s group a 10–25% commission. Even blacklisted or scandal-ridden companies continued to get contracts by changing names.
During the pandemic, at least 51 contractors supplied medical goods without legal compliance. From 2021–2024, Tk 318.87 crore worth of equipment was purchased through 72 tenders dominated by 24 firms — all reportedly controlled by the Shuvro–Tapon syndicate.
Mithu’s nephew’s company, Trade House, supplied Tk 51.35 crore worth of materials across 11 packages, while another relative’s firm, One Trade, won Tk 5.89 crore in contracts. Other firms under his network included MS Micro Traders (Tk 17.64 crore), Bangladesh Science House (Tk 17.07 crore), and Technoworth Associates Ltd (Tk 11.81 crore).
Mithu’s associate, Zaher Uddin Sarkar, blacklisted during the pandemic, continued business under new names such as Genesis Trading, Mercantile Trade, Universal Trade, and SP Trading House. Genesis alone supplied Tk 2.21 crore in equipment, reportedly at several times the market rate, while SP Trading House bagged Tk 6.64 crore in contracts from 2021 to 2023.
The ACC has recently filed charges against Zaher and seven others, including three doctors from Satkhira Medical College Hospital, for embezzling about Tk 7 crore through fake bills.
Records show that OMC Health Care received Tk 30.28 crore in contracts despite facing fraud cases during COVID-19. JMI Syringe & Medical Devices Ltd — whose MD Abdur Razzak was arrested for supplying substandard PPE and masks — still secured Tk 2.05 crore in new contracts.
Meanwhile, former National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH) official Munshi Sajjad Hossain opened five companies under relatives’ names, securing contracts and allegedly earning nearly Tk 100 crore by supplying medical equipment at prices 150–200 times higher than market value.
A DGHS official, requesting anonymity, said: “Who got the contract depended entirely on Rahat Maleque. Tender specifications were drafted to match his preferred companies’ capabilities. He was assisted by DGHS official Mazharul Haque. Together, they destroyed the health ministry.”
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
