The Dhaka mission of the United States had recommended Washington against allowing BNP Senior Vice Chairman Tarique Rahman in the US, WikiLeaks said.
A wire from the regime of a caretaker government in November 2008 said Tarique was guilty of “egregious political corruption” that had “serious adverse security effect on the US.”
Tarique was feared to have affected the national interests to the US specially in the stability of democratic institutions and foreign assistance goals.
However, no security warning was sought for the admittance of Tarique’s wife Zubaida Rahman, their daughter Zaima Rahman, and Tarique’s mother and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia.
The cable from then Ambassador James Moriarty referred to Transparency International’s ranking to justify Bangladesh to have the most corrupted government four years in a row.
Moriarty referred to Tarique as a “notorious and widely feared” individual for “flagrantly and frequently demanding bribes” for government works.
“Tarique is a symbol of kleptocratic government and violent politics in Bangladesh. He managed to manipulate the judicial process and overcame a concerted effort of the caretaker government to block his bail.”
“We believe Tarique has several passports including a new one in which the UK issued him a visa in September. Another passport contains a five year visa – suspected to be held by the government.”
The cable referred to several schemes of bribery from Siemens, Harbin Company, Monem Construction, a prosecution of murder case, and other embezzlement methods.
“The actions of Tarique has directly and irreparably undermined US businesses, resulting in many lost opportunities and threatened specific US mission goals.”
“Finally, his flagrant disregard for the rule of law has provided potent ground for terrorists to gain a foothold in Bangladesh while also exacerbating poverty and weakening democratic institutions.”
In short, much of what is wrong in Bangladesh can be blamed on Tarique and his cronies, the cable said.
