ACC sues 8 over embezzlement in Ctg port lubricant clearance
"I have no involvement in this incident. I have been deliberately implicated in this case," said one of the accused
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed two cases against eight individuals, including officials of Standard Asiatic Oil Company Ltd (SAOCL), for allegedly embezzling Tk90 lakh under the pretext of clearing lubricants from Chattogram port.
ACC Assistant Director Raju Ahmed filed the cases as the plaintiff on Monday (3 March) at the ACC Chattogram District Office-1, in connection with fraudulent activities that are reported to have occurred nearly a decade ago.
Subel Ahmed, deputy director of ACC Chattogram District Office-1, said the cases were filed following the commission's directives.
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He noted that if further individuals are found to be involved during the investigation, they will be held accountable.
The accused include Belayet Hossain, 57, manager (admin) of SAOCL; Kamrul Hossain, 52, manager (production); Atiqur Rahman, 45, deputy manager (audit); Mosammat Ferdous Ara, 52, director of MI Chowdhury & Co; Md Faiaz Farhan, 34, chairman of the same company; Haris Uddin, proprietor of Famous Electric and Electronics at Rifles Club Market; and Narayan Chakraborty from Sadarghat and his wife Rita Chakraborty.
Among them, Belayet Hossain, Kamrul Hossain, and Atiqur Rahman have been named in both cases.
According to the documents of one case, on 16 June 2014, the accused allegedly created fraudulent vouchers for expenses related to unloading lubricant oil imported by SAOCL from Chattogram port. Despite lacking the necessary approval signatures, the payments were processed.
The ACC investigation revealed that despite the missing approval, Belayet Hossain, Kamrul Hossain, and Atiqur Rahman prepared a bill payment slip and authorised a payment order in favour of Famous Electric and Electronics.
On the same day, Tk26 lakh was transferred to Famous Electric and Electronics via a cheque issued from SAOCL's Bank Asia EPZ branch account.
Also, Tk26 lakh was paid under Rita Chakraborty's name. Another Tk26 lakh was issued in favour of Narayan Chakraborty.
These amounts were subsequently transferred to multiple accounts at different times.
In total, the accused are suspected of embezzling Tk78 lakh.
In the second case, Belayet Hossain, Kamrul Hossain, and Atiqur Rahman are accused of misappropriating Tk12.03 lakh using similar fraudulent means.
Belayet Hossain, manager of Administration and Human Resources at SAOCL, said, "I have no connection to this incident. I have been deliberately implicated in the case."
Md Faiaz Farhan, chairman of MI Chowdhury & Co, said, "Previously, my father, Jasim Uddin, was responsible for the C&F agency. Since his passing, I have not been the chairman of the company since 2020. We are unaware of any irregularities in the release of lubricants."
