It is a financial miracle that defies the laws of mathematics.
On paper, Dhaka South City Corporation Revenue Officer Md Atahar Ali Khan earns a maximum basic salary of Tk60,000. In reality, he commands an empire of multi-storey luxury buildings, village duplexes, and anonymous bank accounts worth crores.
Controlling the lucrative market shop allocations, Atahar has allegedly amassed a fortune. His portfolio includes a luxury multi-storey building in Siddheshwari, a lavish Narsingdi duplex, multiple cars, and anonymous bank accounts. Traders allege he pockets millions from ownership transfers and illegally allocates shops to relatives.
When questioned by TIMES of Bangladesh, Atahar offered a classic line of defence, “None of it is in my name.”
Yet, Atahar’s career reads like a thriller. He has been dismissed twice for corruption and even sentenced to five years in prison following an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) probe. Each time, he has managed to bounce back, using court orders to reclaim his desk and defying transfers to stay in Dhaka. Atahar now claims he is an innocent victim of political harassment by the ousted Awami League government, declaring all allegations “baseless.”
Colleagues and watchdogs are not buying it. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), has called for immediate legal action against “the naturally corrupt.”
With both the ACC and DSCC Administrator Abdus Salam promising fresh investigations, the spotlight is firmly back on Atahar.
ACC Deputy Director Akhtarul Islam confirmed that previous suspects facing fresh allegations will face reinvestigation and legal action if proven true.
Meanwhile, Atahar Ali dismissed the claims as “baseless,” arguing the cases were purely political harassment by the ousted Awami League and have been cleared by the High Court.
Bribery over shop ownership transfer
Atahar Ali Khan is facing fierce backlash from local shop owners in several DSCC markets. They accuse him of masterminding a lucrative bribery racket that has brought ownership transfers across Dhaka’s major markets to a grinding halt.
While official rules mandate a standard fee of one year’s rent for a name transfer, shop owners at Ahsan Manzil, Kaptanbazar, Fulbaria, and Sundarban Super Markets allege they cannot get their paperwork approved without paying Atahar additional bribes ranging from Tk2 lakh to Tk5 lakh.
Traders claim that Atahar routinely weaponises minor bureaucratic pretexts, such as National ID discrepancies, signature mismatches, or inheritance disputes, to hold their files hostage.
Specific shop registrations across Sadarghat Hawkers Market and Nawab Yusuf Market have been frozen for months, while nearly 200 shop transfers remain stuck in Siddiq Bazar alone.
One victim, Sharif Hossain Shiplu, revealed that Atahar has personally delayed his registration for nearly two years using flimsy excuses.
According to market branch tax officers Md Shahjahan and Abu Naser Kochi, their offices routinely verify and clear the applications. However, the files inevitably hit a dead end on Atahar’s desk.
Kochi confirmed that even after the tax branch approves the documents, Atahar insists on “re-verifying” them, a tactic traders say is designed purely to extract cash.
Shops in Atahar’s name and family
Atahar has abused his position since joining the City Corporation in 2006 to build a vast, illicit property empire.
An ACC investigation exposed a network of at least 20 lucrative market shops allocated to Atahar and his relatives, flatly violating service rules.
Official records prove Atahar personally secured shop 41 in Chandrima Super Market and shop 1600 in the Gulistan Trade Centre, while allocating shop 117 in the Kaptan Bazar Complex to his father. The ACC uncovered 14 additional illegal allocations across Kaptan Bazar, alongside his hidden membership in a Mirpur cooperative society.
In its damning court report, the ACC declared the corruption charges against Atahar fully proven.
Investigators even discovered vital, classified City Corporation documents illegally hoarded at his private residence, solidifying his role as a bureaucrat treating public property as a personal family business.
Overcharging millions for mayor’s quota shops
Dhaka South City Corporation’s allocation of 103 premium shops in Fulbaria Super Market has devolved into a massive extortion racket.
Reserved under the mayor’s quota for eminent citizens, these shops carry an official, square-foot-based “salami” fee of Tk8 lakh to Tk10 lakh.
However, shop owners have formally complained that they are being forced to pay a staggering Tk17 lakh per shop.
While an official five-member committee headed by the DSCC chief executive officer is supposed to oversee the process, traders reveal that Revenue Officer Atahar is pulling the strings. He has hijacked the allocations, pocketing millions in illegal premiums from a scheme meant to honour national contributors.
Sacked twice, transferred once
Atahar’s service record highlights shocking institutional resilience. First dismissed in 2012 over academic certificate fraud and recruitment irregularities, he used a court order to rejoin in 2019, only to be sacked again in 2020.
In November 2025, the Ministry of Local Government transferred him to Chattogram City Corporation, but he simply defied the order. By February 2026, a direct High Court directive officially reinstated him at the Dhaka South City Corporation, cementing his status as an untouchable bureaucrat.
Cases and warrants
Atahar’s legal troubles escalated when the ACC charged him with laundering money abroad between 2003 and 2013, triggering a court arrest warrant in July 2025.
While that laundering case remains ongoing, he was ultimately arrested and jailed after being handed a five-year prison sentence in a separate ACC corruption case.
Duplex, flat, and SUV
Atahar recently completed a multi-crore luxury duplex in Shimulia village, located in Narsingdi’s Shibpur, an opulent estate that visibly cost millions.
Moving up from his previous residence at Topkhana Road, he purchased flat D-13 in the Rupayan Swapna Niloy building on Siddheshwari Road for Tk3.5 crore.
Security guard Mahbub confirmed Atahar’s residence after identifying his photograph, while building manager Sohel Parvez verified that the flat officially belongs to him.
To match his upscale lifestyle, the revenue officer commutes in an SUV bearing registration number Dhaka Metro-Ga 12-2311.
