Corruption: NBR releases first secretary Faisal after his transfer to Bogura

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has released its first secretary Quazi Abu Mahmud Faisal from his position following allegations of amassing illegal wealth through corruption. 

An office order has been issued in this regard on Thursday afternoon. He was earlier transferred to the Bogura tax zone on 30 June.  

A court in Dhaka on 27 June ordered the confiscation of movable and immovable assets held by Quazi Abu Mahmud Faisal. 

Judge Mohammed Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain of Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge's court passed the order on Thursday, in response to an appeal filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

It was learned that the accused refrained from attending the office since the court order.

The confiscated assets include a flat, two plots, and savings certificates worth Tk 25.5 million held by Faisal, his wife, and other related individuals.

Besides, the court ordered the freezing of 19 bank accounts and 87 accounts in a financial institution held by the tax official and his relatives. As long as the order is in place, the owners would not be able to handover or exchange the assets concerned. 

Mosharraf Hossain Kajal, the public prosecutor of the ACC, told Prothom Alo that the NBR official had accumulated a significant amount of wealth through bribes and corruption, which is now under investigation by the ACC.

During the initial inquiry, the ACC discovered the flat, two plots, and savings certificates worth Tk 25.5 million, he said, adding they briefed the court in this regard and sought a confiscation order.

The ACC informed the court in writing that Abu Mahmud Faisal had misused his power and engaged in bribery to amass his wealth. He had opened more than 700 accounts using the names of his relatives in an attempt to conceal the sources of his income.