In a quirky turn of events, an official of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) sued by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was appointed head of a tribunal on Wednesday, but following widespread public criticism, he was made an officer on special duty (OSD) just a day later.
A government notification was issued on Thursday making Mohammad Belal Hossain Chowdhury, president of the Customs, Excise, and VAT Appellate Tribunal in Dhaka, an OSD with immediate effect. NBR transferred him to this position on Wednesday. Before that, he was a member of NBR, in-charge of VAT Implementation and IT department.
However, questions are being raised as to why he has not been suspended despite facing a case filed by the ACC.
Experts argue that once an ACC case is filed, a departmental case should be initiated, and the official should be suspended — as corruption constitutes a serious moral breach.
Instead, the NBR first transferred him to the position of a tribunal president, and has now made him an OSD, which many see as an attempt to shield him.
Former ACC director general (legal & prosecution) Moyeedul Islam told TIMES, “According to Rule 26 of the ACC Rules, once a case is filed, the ACC must inform the authority concerned — in this case, the NBR. The NBR, upon receiving this information, should naturally initiate a departmental case and temporarily suspend the official, as corruption is a serious moral failing.”
He added, “Instead, the NBR appointed him as president of the tribunal, and then made him an OSD, seemingly to protect him. Those who unjustly rewarded him should also be investigated — we must ask what they gained by doing this.”
When contacted, NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman Khan told TIMES, “It is not my job to protect or dismiss him. He was issued a show-cause notice as per the rules. If his explanation was unsatisfactory, actions would have been taken.”
Regarding the ACC case, he added, “We haven’t yet received any official letter from the ACC. I only learned about it through the media. If formally informed, appropriate action will be taken.”
Some begged to differ with the NBR chairman, saying that transferring Belal to head a tribunal does not seem normal as his case was well-publicised
ACC spokesperson and director general (prevention) Akhter Hossain told TIMES, “According to the law, after a case is filed against any government official, the authority concerned must be formally notified. For this reason, the ACC will send a formal letter to the relevant institution on Sunday.”
The case against Belal was filed on Tuesday by ACC Deputy Director Md Saiduzzaman. The investigation team included Assistant Director Subimal Chakma.
According to the case statement, Belal Hossain concealed assets worth Tk4,60,19,713 in his declaration. He had declared assets worth Tk8,83,11,166. However, the investigation found evidence of assets totalling Tk13,43,30,879 in his name. Of this, Tk4,60,19,713 was not declared.
It is alleged that during his tenure as a government official, Belal Hossain unlawfully amassed moveable and immoveable assets worth Tk4,97,51,396 beyond his known sources of income — allegedly through corruption and irregularities.
Recently, the official faced controversy after allegedly using a government order for training in Indonesia to travel to Australia instead.
He also sought an extension to reply to a show-cause notice issued in this regard.
