The Anti-Corruption Commission has decided to investigate the scandal over sham gold crests, which were presented to foreign friends for their contributions to the 1971 Liberation War.
A regular meeting of the anti-corruption body yesterday decided to probe the scam as the ACC is the only authority to look into the matter, which involved civil servants and public representatives allegedly misappropriating government funds by producing the crests with less gold than specified, an official told reporters.
The official also said the ACC had already scrutinised media reports on the scam.
A government probe report found that 13 senior bureaucrats, including Liberation War Affairs Secretary KH Masud Siddique, former minister AB Tajul Islam and ex-secretary Mizanur Rahman, were connected with the embezzlement, which cost the government Tk7.04 crore. Two gold suppliers, Amicom and MS Mohsinul Hasan, were also involved in the scheme.
From 2011 to 2013, the government honoured 338 foreign individuals and organisations for their contributions to the country’s liberation. Each honoree was given a crest, which was supposed to be made of one bhori (11.66g) of gold and 30 bhori (350g) of silver.
However, a test conducted by Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution found that there was only about three ana (2.2g) of gold and three bhori (35g) of brass and copper in each crest.
ACC Chairman M Bodiuzzaman told the Dhaka Tribune that the commission would analyse the government probe report and try to trace the people behind the irregularity.
“As the government probe found the involvement of government high-ups in the forgery, we will inquire into this in our own way, as it is related to the image of the country and is a scheduled offense under ACC,” Bodiuzzaman said.