Bangladesh Cricket Board president Tamim Iqbal has issued a stern warning against corruption within the board after discovering that low-income cleaning staff were being systematically deprived of their rightful wages by a third-party intermediary taking money for work they never did.
Speaking to journalists, Tamim made clear that the exploitation of poorly paid workers represents a line he will not allow to be crossed on his watch.
BCB cleaners are entitled to 650 taka per day for their work. However, Tamim found that an intermediary syndicate had been paying the workers just 300 taka and pocketing the remaining 350 taka without performing any duties whatsoever.
“Those who do the cleaning get 300? And those who do no work take the remaining 350? This cannot be allowed,” Tamim said. “Someone sitting in the middle is taking this money without doing anything.”
The investigation also uncovered a further irregularity. Several workers were found to be actively working at the BCB but did not appear on the board’s official records at all, meaning their employment had effectively been rendered invisible to oversight.
“Those who run their families on 7,000 to 10,000 taka salaries, even taking 500 taka from them is a serious crime,” Tamim said. “As long as I am here, I will not allow even one percent of this.”
Tamim has already held meetings with the BCB’s chief executive officer and head of finance to address the situation. Three directives have been issued with immediate effect. Every cleaner must open their own bank account. All salaries must be transferred directly into those accounts. No intermediary will be permitted to handle cash payments on behalf of the workers.
The cleaning service provider has also been issued a blunt ultimatum. “I have said that 30 women must be brought before me and paid their due 500 taka in front of me. Only if they can do this will their contract remain, otherwise they will be blacklisted,” Tamim said.
Tamim framed the crackdown not merely as an administrative measure but as a matter of personal integrity, pointing to his long record of speaking out against institutional wrongdoing.
“I have not come here as BCB president just to enjoy myself. For the past 17 to 18 years, I have spoken against these irregularities from outside. If I do not correct them now, then my earlier words will have no value,” he said.
He also acknowledged that human error is inevitable within any large organisation, but drew a clear distinction between mistakes and deliberate wrongdoing. “As human beings, we may make mistakes, but no one will be allowed to commit wrongdoing deliberately. I want everyone in the BCB to have equal opportunity and to work professionally.”
