The BTRC yesterday signed a deal with a chartered accountants company for conducting a second time audit of the market’s leading mobile phone operator Grameenphone.
Finance Director of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Ashis Kumar Kundu and audit firm Toha Khan Zaman Co Chartered Accountants director Nasir Ahmed signed the deal on behalf of their respective organisations.
The regulator may sign another deal with Masih Muhith Haque & Co Chartered Accountants for running audit of another operator Robi by next week at a cost of Tk7.82 crore.
In 2011, the BTRC had Grameenphone audit done by a firm, which found the operator owed Tk3,034 crore to the government.
Later, the Grameenphone took the matter to the High Court and challenged the auditor appointing process, which still remains pending.
However, the audit company sources said they had already started preparation for the audit and hired an additional manpower for running the audit of the leading operator.
A BTRC official said within a short time the auditors would soon go to the Grameenphone office to conduct “a massive auditing” of financial and technical issues.
He said the auditors would enter into the billing system and cross-check with their taxation figures, actual subscribers number and figures of airtime along with some other issues.
Grameenphone and Robi said they had no problem with audit though the BTRC move was “surprising.”
While talking to the Dhaka Tribune, they questioned why other operators should not face same audit.
BTRC told the government that it allocated Tk40.88 crore for audits of different mobile phone operators this fiscal year. Once the audits into Grameenphone and Robi are done, the regulator will initiate similar audit to other operators, the regulator said.
An attempt to inspect Banglalink in 2011 failed as the appointed auditor, Ahmed Zaker & Co, could not finish the job.
