Ex-accountant of Ctg hospital sued for Tk5.37cr embezzlement attempt
Enamul Haque, assistant director of ACC District Office-1, filed the case yesterday (11 August).
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against four individuals, including a former accountant of Chattogram General Hospital, for attempting to embezzle Tk5.37 crore by submitting false bills.
The case was filed by Enamul Haque, assistant director of ACC District Office-1, on Sunday.
The accused are Muhammad Forkan, former accountant of the 250-bed Chattogram General Hospital, along with Munshi Farrukh Hossain Mintu, owner of the contracting firm Ahmed Enterprises, his brother Munshi Sajjad Hossain, and an employee of Ahmed Enterprises named Mukit Mondal.
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Deputy Director Najmus Saadat of ACC Integrated District Office Chattogram-1 confirmed the case filing, stating that it was based on allegations of submitting a falsified bill of over Tk5.37 crore by creating fake sanctioned expenses.
The charges date back to 2013-14, when Ahmed Enterprises supplied ICU beds and other equipment to Chattogram General Hospital. The hospital authorities refused to accept the equipment due to their defective condition.
Following this, allegations of buying faulty goods and irregularities in the tender process led to an ACC investigation.
The investigating officer eventually filed a charge sheet, and the payment for the equipment was withheld as the case was pending.
In June 2022, Forkan, in collaboration with the owners of Ahmed Enterprises, allegedly created fake expenses and submitted the bill to the Chattogram divisional accounting officer's office with only a single signature from the civil surgeon. However, the accounting officer's office detected the irregularities and returned the bill.
The ACC has charged the accused under sections 409, 467, 468, 471, 109, and 511 of the Penal Code for their involvement in the attempted embezzlement.
Following the fraudulent attempt in June 2022, a four-member inquiry committee was formed by the Divisional Health Director.
The committee's report confirmed the fraudulent activities, leading to a complaint being lodged with the ACC by the then-supervisor of Chattogram General Hospital, Sheikh Fazle Rabbi.
Subsequently, Forkan was transferred from Chattogram to Munshiganj.
