Biman Bangladesh Airlines has recently sparked controversy over the contractual appointment and promotion of some officials.
At the heart of the turmoil lies the recent transfer of a joint secretary and the questionable appointment of an official accused of ticket black-marketing to head the marketing and sales department.
Kamrul Hassan Khan, the joint secretary, was transferred to hold the newly created cargo director position, while General Manager (GM) Mohammad Salahuddin assumed additional responsibilities as the marketing and sales director, a responsibility previously fulfilled by Kamrul, according to an order signed by AZM Arif, manager admin (APP).
This move disregarded Biman's corporate policy, which outlines clear procedures for filling vacant positions with senior officers of the next rank.
According to the Biman corporate policy manual, if an officer serving against any post approved by Biman is on leave, training or if the post becomes vacant due to death, then the senior officer of the lower rank in the respective post will perform the duty as officiating arrangements.
When asked about the Biman corporate policy manual, Biman Managing Director and CEO Shafiul Azim declined to comment on it.
An investigation carried out by this reporter last year found that Biman GM Mohammad Salahuddin, who is heading a syndicate, confessed to the Guangzhou ticket scam.
Although most of those involved with the scam retired at the end of their tenure, some of them are going to be hired in the marketing department on a contractual basis.
Contract hiring
Even though Biman discourages contractual recruitment to avoid financial losses, in the last one year around 20 individuals were bought under contractual agreement, including Golam Mostafa, a marketing official, Rezaul Huq, manager (pricing), Azizul Islam, general manager of airport services, Md Ali Chanchal, general manager (poultry), and others in the GSE and engineering department.
Among them, Tabibur Rahman, deputy manager, HDQ, was sent to Hajj posting, violating Biman's rule for giving him incentives before retirement.
He was also allegedly involved in Ticket manipulation. A complaint against him is under investigation. Despite this, he has been given an extension.
Meanwhile, Azizul Islam stands accused of embezzling hundreds of crores of taka and acquiring assets illegally by misusing his power during his tenure as general manager of project and works, according to Anti-Corruption Commission documents.
The ACC on December 3 wrote to the Biman CEO seeking information on the embezzlements.
Faruk Ahmed, Sabre project manager, faced criticism for failing in his role, leading to issues with the project and causing loss to Biman, but he has been rewarded for his close connection with GM Salahuddin.
The Texas-based Sabre GLBL Inc has been providing Biman with a global distribution system (GDS), which hosts Biman tickets and bookings for travel agents across the world. According to an audit conducted by the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh, Biman will lose more than Tk1,000 crore over the course of a ten-year agreement with the firm.
Despite allegations of irregularities and corruption, GM Mohammed Salahuddin is now the acting director of marketing and sales.
Sources suggest that GM Salahuddin lobbied to hire his accomplices so that he could cover up all irregularities in the marketing department. He is set to retire on June 24 next year.
There are allegations that after a mysterious London tour on May 4, Biman chief Shafiul Azim first defied government orders, ignored all evidence available, and cleared Revenue General Manager Mohammed Mizanur Rashid of corruption charges in software procurement for the airliner.
Later, the Biman MD directed the transfer of the aforementioned joint secretary-rank government official who held the post of director for marketing and sales, assigning additional responsibilities to Mohammed Salahuddin.
After promoting them, Shafiul Azim Visited China to appoint GSA along with Mizanur Rashid and Salahuddin.
Critics accuse the Biman MD of favouritism, as Salahuddin, Mizanur and Shafiul Azim hail from the same area.
The contract-based appointment and promotion of these accused were set to be given final approval in the 299th board meeting on Thursday, which is on agenda No 9 of the meeting. Dhaka Tribune has obtained a copy of the report.
In the meeting, the last one of the current board, a good number of retired officials are likely to get contractual appointments without any internal assessment.
Insiders at Biman expressed concerns that contractual appointments discourage junior officers, leading to a decline in the retention rate and the departure of young officers.
Several former Biman board members told Dhaka Tribune that if the accused individuals get promoted to vital posts, Biman will be embroiled in various scandals, including financial scams.
They think that patronizing and promoting dishonest officials is a sign of incompetence on the part of the head of the company.