Ex-NBR official Matiur’s rejoinders and our reply

Former National Board of Revenue (NBR) official Matiur Rahman has sent separate rejoinders to two TBS reports, one of which, titled "Supposed to end in 180 days, smuggling case lingers for 18 years," was published on 13 July.

Based on information from the relevant courts, the TBS report stated that the trial of an 18-year-old smuggling case, filed in 2006, remained pending in a Dhaka court for seven years due to Matiur Rahman's repeated failure to testify.

In a recent three-page written statement to TBS, Matiur asserted that the report is "unfounded and false". He also raised several unrelated points that do not pertain to the report.

The report states, "In less than a month, he lost his job at the NBR, had all his 'illegal' assets confiscated by the court, and is currently under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) — all of which began with the 'infamous Tk15 lakh goat' his son attempted to purchase just before Eid-ul-Adha last month."

In response, Matiur said, "Dr Md Matiur Rahman did not lose his job at the NBR. That is a complete lie; I voluntarily retired."

Matiur's son Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat posted a photo of a sacrificial goat on social media prior to last Eid-ul-Adha, claiming it was priced at Tk15 lakh. This post triggered widespread speculation about Matiur's source of income as a government employee.

Following this post, Matiur, who was the president of the NBR Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal, was removed from his role and reassigned to the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Ministry of Finance.

After this, Matiur, who had by then gone into hiding, submitted his joining letter to the IRD via mail but did not actually report for duty. Consequently, on 31 July, the government sent him on retirement upon application.

In his statement, Matiur said, "The Anti-Corruption Commission has not declared my family's assets illegal based solely on media reports. The ACC's investigation is ongoing. The media has reported on this as they see fit. The income sources for me and my family are properly documented in our income tax returns."

The ACC initiated an investigation into Matiur and his family members following the controversy surrounding his son's "goat scandal". Subsequently, the ACC has seized various assets belonging to Matiur, his wife, and his children based on court orders.

In the statement to TBS, Matiur Rahman also denied that Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat is his son.

He said, "Md Imran Hossain, the owner of Sadeeq Agro, targeted a 16-year-old talented student named Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, who completed his SSC in the English version at Motijheel Ideal School and College and is currently studying science in the 12th grade at Notre Dame College. Clever Imran Hossain told Ifat to announce the price of Tk15 lakh for the goat, which has caused quite a stir in Bangladesh."

He further added, "In reality, no goat was sold to Ifat, and Dr Matiur Rahman has no connection to this matter. Besides, transacting with a 16-year-old boy without any guardian present is irrational and appears conspiratorial."

In his statement, Matiur asserted that incorrect information was published in the report, specifically the part which said, "On 13 June this year, he finally testified in court in an 18-year-old smuggling case, but only because he had no choice."

"At the time of the smuggled clothing seizure in 2006, I was the director of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Directorate (CIID). Since the director is not directly involved in this case, my testimony was not mandatory," Matiur said.

"Furthermore, when the court summoned me to testify, I complied and provided my testimony. Therefore, the allegation that the delay in this case was due to my dillydallying in testimony is completely false, fabricated, defamatory, and objectionable," he said.

According to the chargesheet of the case, Matiur was the sixth witness out of 15 in the case, with the seized clothing being held by the CIID.

TBS in its investigation found that the trial of this case was stalled for seven years due to Matiur. As a key witness, Matiur was summoned to court nine times over the span of seven years but failed to appear, causing delays in the trial.

The court scheduled Matiur's first testimony for 29 December 2017. However, after he ignored the nine summonses, the court issued a non-bailable witness warrant (NBWW) against him on 26 May this year, compelling his arrest and appearance in court under Section 90 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. TBS obtained a copy of this order. 

Consequently, Matiur was compelled to testify in the case on 13 June, as per the court's schedule.

Section 90 of the Code of Criminal Procedure grants the court the authority to issue an arrest warrant if a witness does not appear despite multiple summons.

It specifies that a court may, in any case in which it is empowered by this Code to issue a summon for the appearance of any person, issue a warrant for his arrest after recording its reasons in writing.

The subsections say: (a) If, either before the issue of such summons, or after the issue of the same but before the time fixed for his appearance, the court sees reason to believe that he has absconded or will not obey the summons; or

(b) If at such time he fails to appear and the summons is proved to have been duly served in time to admit of his appearing in accordance therewith and no reasonable excuse is offered for such failure.

Therefore, we stand by our report as all the information was published after vetting.

In his statement, Matiur said, "A group, utilising intelligence agencies, Ganabhaban, and the CRI, orchestrated the so-called 'goat scandal' during the last Eid-ul-Adha to target me and my family with false, motivated, and exaggerated disinformation spread through social media and mainstream media. This publicly humiliated me and my family by labelling us as 'corrupt' and placing us in an embarrassing situation within society. The motive behind it was to distract public attention."

Matiur's rejoinder to another TBS report

Matiur also sent a rejoinder to another TBS report, published on 26 June, titled "Goat scandal: Relatives in village shocked at Matiur's wealth revelation."

He refuted a section of the report that reads, "Relatives of former National Board of Revenue official Matiur Rahman, now accused of corruption, are struggling to believe he has accumulated the wealth recently reported by the Anti-Corruption Commission and media outlets," calling it false.

Matiur claimed that the report used an incorrect image of a mosque. However, the report did not feature any such photo; the photo it used depicted a blue-coloured two-storey building which is actually Matiur's village home in Bahadurpur, located in Kazirchar union of Muladi upazila, Barishal.

Matiur also challenged the reporter, claiming that he had not earned even a single taka through corruption during his official duties. 

The TBS report detailed multiple investigations by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) into Matiur Rahman. It highlighted allegations that he had amassed significant wealth, including financial and real estate assets, amounting to hundreds of crores, as uncovered by the ACC.

In his rejoinder, Matiur claimed the report inaccurately depicted his family as pro-BNP.

However, during a visit to Kazirchar union, the reporter gathered information from locals which indicates that Matiur Rahman's brother, Qayyum Hawladar, and his father were in fact involved in local BNP politics.

Matiur also alleged that the report mentioned his elder and younger brothers managing his business, which was not stated anywhere in the report.

Locals even identified the property referenced in the report and confirmed that Matiur Rahman owns it.

Matiur claimed that the report portrayed his brother, Qayyum Hawladar, as a dishonest businessman. However, the report only stated that Matiur Rahman had opened a bag factory in Tongi, Dhaka, for his brother without putting any label on him.

Matiur also said that the report mentioned his ownership of a shoe factory spanning 300 bighas of land, but no such information was included in the report.

Instead, the report, citing a preliminary ACC investigation, stated that Matiur owns 300 bighas of land in Pubail, Gazipur.

Therefore, we stand by our report as it was published based on information gathered by the reporter, who spent two days in Bahadurpur village of Kazirchar union, collecting statements from locals and relatives of Matiur Rahman. These statements have been documented and video recordings are available.