Concerns over ethical boundaries within public institutions have resurfaced after an investigative journalist Zulkarnine Saer’s Facebook post revealed that the father of an adviser of the interim government has been officially registered as a contractor with the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED).
According to documents cited in the FB post, Billal Hossain—the father of Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, Adviser to the LGRD and Cooperatives Ministry—was enlisted as an LGED contractor on 16 March 2025 by the Executive Engineer of the LGED’s Cumilla office.
When contacted for comment, Asif Mahmud initially said he was unaware of the matter but promised to verify the details. After checking, he confirmed that the license and contractor registration in his father’s name were indeed valid but insisted that they were arranged without his prior knowledge.
He attributed the move to a local contractor who had allegedly persuaded his father—a retired teacher—to obtain the license and listing. “My father was not aware of the implications. No public work has been undertaken using this registration,” Asif Mahmud stated.
While the adviser has distanced himself from the incident, the revelation has nonetheless prompted public debate on potential conflict of interest and the transparency of contractor enlistment practices—particularly when close relatives of government officials are involved.
Experts note that even if no projects were executed, such registration poses questions about institutional integrity, influence, and the need for tighter guidelines around procurement-related roles of family members of public officials.
The ministry has not yet issued any official statement regarding the incident.