The recently-formed Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) taskforce will be enquiring into the Tk2,000 crore embezzlement allegations against Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC).
The DNCC allegedly misappropriated the money between 2012 and 2014.
The commission’s Deputy Director Mirza Zahidul Alam and Assistant Director Debabrata Mondol have been assigned to carry out the inquiry.
The inquiry team will get only seven days for initial verification of the allegation against the DNCC.
The anti-graft body will also be carrying out inquiries against the DNCC concerning allegations of irregularities related to preparing vouchers and facilitating private firms for violating rules.
Requesting anonymity, an ACC official told the Dhaka Tribune that it would be the first enquiry after the taskforce had been formed. “The commission is looking into the allegations seriously.”
ACC Chairman M Bodiuzzaman said the decision to launch the enquiry was made at a meeting of the commission but refused to disclose further details.
The audit department in a letter said a seven-bigha land in the capital’s Mohammadpur Town Hall area was given to a property development company without any signing money.
30% of the land was given to the company, even though it was supposed to be 40%, which resulted in the DNCC suffering a loss of Tk560 crore.
The project was signed in 2007 and a 20-storey commercial building was supposed to be built in five years but no construction was carried out in the site.
As the project failed, it was supposed to be cancelled but it is still active.
The audit department also mentioned losses of Tk352 crore and Tk430 crore in a 2.5-bigha DNCC land in Gulshan area and another four-bigha land in Rayer Bazar.
In another corruption allegation, the audit department showed that the tender of a project worth Tk1.35 crore was given to many firms violating the rules.
All the corruptions were initiated as per the final order of incumbent DNCC Chief Executive Officer BM Enamul Haque.