Do you remember the “Brazil Bari”? A six-storey building in Fatulla, Narayanganj, was found to be adorned entirely with Brazil’s national colours, and the word Brazil is emblazoned on its façade.
During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Joao Tabajara de Oliveira Junior, the then Brazilian ambassador to Dhaka, visited the property.
The owner of Brazil Bari is Zainal Abedin, also known as Tutul, a fourth-grade employee of Jamuna Oil Company. He faces allegations of state fuel theft, corruption, and acquiring multiple properties, including land and flats, through illicit means.
For a decade, Zainal has been serving as president of the Jamuna Oil Company Labour Union, whose office is officially in Chattogram. He has also established a union office at the Fatulla depot in Narayanganj under his own name.
During the previous government, he was closely associated with influential political families in Narayanganj, including Azmeri Osman. Reports indicate that he continued to control the depot covertly even after the July 2024 uprising and is now reportedly close to local leaders of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
The owner of Brazil Bari is Zainal Abedin, also known as Tutul, a fourth-grade employee of Jamuna Oil Company. He faces allegations of state fuel theft, corruption, and acquiring multiple properties, including land and flats, through illicit means.
A Jamuna Oil official submitted a written complaint in March to the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources against Zainal. The complaint notes that Zainal is absconding as a fugitive in a murder case linked to the July uprising, yet he is still marked present at the office in official records. Attendance at Jamuna Oil is registered via signed registers, and the company has taken no action.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, Brazil Bari was reportedly vandalised and set ablaze. When visited on 2 October, the building remained unrepaired and uninhabited.
Oil theft network
Sources from the state-owned Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna oil companies allege that a syndicate has been created to misappropriate and sell fuel through falsified accounting. Some company officers and employees are involved, with the leadership largely composed of union (CBA) leaders like Zainal, who are third- and fourth-grade employees.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), the country’s sole state entity responsible for fuel import and supply, distributes oil to the market via its own distributors under Padma, Meghna, and Jamuna. Over the past 15 years, these union organisations were aligned with the Jatiya Sramik League, but after the July uprising, they shifted toward the Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal. Senior union leaders often do not attend offices regularly.
Prothom Alo conducted investigations from 2 to 20 September in Dhaka and Chattogram, focusing on fuel theft and the lifestyles of the union leaders implicated. The findings revealed the luxurious lives of at least four leaders affiliated with Jamuna’s unions.
Sources say that although oil worth billions of taka is allegedly stolen annually, proving it through documents is challenging. The theft generally occurs in two ways: high temperatures cause oil to expand; this surplus is not recorded and is siphoned off; and secondly, part of the oil is sold and replaced with adulterated fuel, making shortages evident in supply-demand accounting.
Sources say that although oil worth billions of taka is allegedly stolen annually, proving it through documents is challenging. But, the lavish lifestyle of the people involved with the clique also substantiates the oil theft allegation.
The lavish lifestyle of the people involved with the clique also substantiates the oil theft allegation. BPC on 8 October formed two committees to investigate the allegations against Jamuna Oil Company’s two labour leaders Zainal and Mohammad Yakub
Gauger ‘own’s Brazil Bari’
Oil companies supply dealers nationwide via 47 depots, 15 of which belong to Jamuna. Zainal, son of a watchman at the Fatulla depot, started his career taking a canteen job after his father’s death on a “no work, no pay” basis. In December 2005, he was made permanent and soon became a gauger (oil measurer).
Company sources note that accounting gaps in oil measurement have allowed Zainal to amass vast wealth. As of August, his basic salary as a fourth-grade employee was Tk 20,310, with allowances bringing the total to Tk 50,500.
Complaints and sources indicate Zainal and family members own land and flats in Keraniganj, Rupganj, Savar, and Narayanganj, including Brazil Bari in Fatulla.
Locals say the property sits on four decimals of land, purchased by Zainal’s father, with Zainal constructing a six-storey, two-unit building over 15 years ago at an estimated cost exceeding Tk 15 million (1.5 crore).
Zainal told Prothom Alo via written statement that he owns no property in Dhaka. He claimed that the Brazil Bari was constructed using contributions from siblings, his father’s Khulna business (Farid Motors), pensions, and bank loans.
He denies involvement in Jamuna Oil fuel theft or misappropriation and alleges false charges filed against him on 5 August 2024, which is why he maintains some privacy in office attendance.
However, two Jamuna officials dispute this, noting that a permanent employee has no scope to run a business while in service, and pension amounts are modest. They also said Zainal’s father is from Noakhali and used to work at Fatulla depot. How could he have business in Khulna?
Zainal has three sisters and two brothers. Husbands of his sisters work at Jamuna’s oil depot at Fatulla. One of them is a permanent employee while another one is contractual. Another brother-in-law and his younger brother oversee Zainal and their businesses.
Allegations also link Zainal’s wealth to siblings and in-laws working at Jamuna depots. Records also indicate he repaid a Tk 20 lakh (two million) loan for Brazil Bari within a year, reportedly to show a legitimate source of construction funds.
Adjacent to Brazil Bari is another two-storey house on Zainal’s five decimals land where he maintains an office. Both buildings suffered damage and arson during the July uprising, including the destruction of two vehicles.
Adjacent to Brazil Bari is another two-storey house on Zainal’s five decimals land where he maintains an office. Both buildings suffered damage and arson during the July uprising, including the destruction of two vehicles.
Zainal allegedly also owns two ships and two tankers/lorries for fuel transport. He drives a Premio model car registered in his wife’s name in July, 2015.
Zainal’s ancestral home in Char Kutubpur, Begumganj, Noakhali includes a single-storey building where his uncle resides.
Prothom Alo correspondent visited the area on 6 October and talked to the local people. They said Zainal’s family did not have that much wealth. But his assets grew alongside his tendency to charity in the last few years.
A single-storey concrete building was found at Zainal’s ancestral home, where his paternal uncle lives currently. Whenever Zainal visits the village, he stays there. The house features an air-conditioned room specifically for him. A garage has been built adjacent to the building, where his car is kept during his visits.
Behind the house, Zainal has excavated a new pond on approximately one acre of land. To enhance its aesthetic appeal, reinforced concrete slabs have been installed around the pond, along with several electric poles and lights.
CCTV cameras have been installed around the pond, at the entrance to the property, and around the dwelling itself. Relatives told Prothom Alo that Zainal monitors all activities on the premises remotely from Dhaka through these CCTV cameras.
Zainal’s brother-in-law, Md Kamal, told Prothom Alo that after his father-in-law’s death, his brother-in-law Zainal secured employment at Jamuna Oil. Through his job, Zainal gradually purchased some land in the village.
In addition to his employment, Kamal claimed, Zainal owns a shipping business, possessing two bulkhead vessels. Kamal himself also owns two ships, which he said were purchased with money he saved from many years abroad.
It is worth noting, however, that employees of state-owned oil companies are not permitted to run private businesses.
In front of Zainal’s family home, a two-storey mosque is under construction. Zainal has claimed that the mosque is being built with charitable donations. However, several local residents told Prothom Alo that the construction is costing nearly Tk 1 crore (10 million) and that Zainal is covering almost all of the expense himself.
One neighbour, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “We cannot understand what kind of job Zainal does that allows him to afford all this. He’s spent lakhs of taka on the house and the pond, and he donates money throughout the area. Where is all this money coming from?”
New method of oil theft, ‘collusion’ of Zainal
To prevent the theft and wastage of fuel oil, the government has constructed a Dhaka–Chattogram pipeline. Oil supply through this pipeline began last June. From the main terminal in Patenga, Chattogram, oil is being delivered directly to Fatullah in Narayanganj. Despite this, Jamuna Oil Company has reported a loss of 375,000 liters of diesel in two separate incidents. There are allegations of Tutul’s involvement in this collusion.
Jamuna Oil Company has already taken the matter of the missing oil into consideration. A committee has been formed to investigate the incident. Committee member Md Alamgir Alam, AGM (E&D) of Jamuna Oil Company, told Prothom Alo on 30 September that they have already visited Fatullah and are verifying everything thoroughly.
Oil supply through the Dhaka–Chattogram pipeline began last June. From the main terminal in Patenga, Chattogram, oil is being delivered directly to Fatullah in Narayanganj.
On 1 October, Prothom Alo published a report on the oil theft at Fatullah Depot. To conduct a full investigation into the oil theft, the Energy Division formed a committee on 6 October. BPC also formed a separate committee for the same incident. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has also launched an operation.
BPC Chairman Amin Ul Ahsan told Prothom Alo that efforts are being made to eliminate allegations in the fuel sector. Investigations into the oil theft are ongoing. He said the committee has been instructed to include information about the assets of the accused individuals, which will later be shared with relevant government agencies. There are some complications in transferring selected CBA leaders. Therefore, initiatives have been taken to amend the labour law if necessary to enable their transfer.
Typist lives in a 4,000sqft apartment
Md Abul Kashem was an office assistant at Jamuna Oil Company. After his death, his son Muhammad Ayub got a job as a typist. In 2009, Ayub became the joint general secretary of the labour union at Jamuna Oil Company.
A year later, he became the general secretary. He has held this position ever since. For the past decade and a half, the union was affiliated with the Sramik League. After the political shift last year, he turned it into an organisation of the Sramik Dal.
Officials and employees of Jamuna said that when Ayub’s job was made permanent in 1997 after working three years on a contract, his basic salary was Tk 935. It has now increased to Tk 37,503. Including all allowances, his total salary stands at Tk 85,100.
However, this salary does not reflect in Ayub’s lifestyle. He lives in a 4,000-square-foot flat in the upscale area of Khulshi, Chattogram. He has investments—both in his own name and under others’—in various businesses. He drives a Noah microbus.
According to BRTA sources, the 2019 model vehicle was registered in March last year in Chattogram under the name of a person named Jahangir Alam. Sources in the Jamuna CBA said Jahangir is Ayub’s friend. Several attempts were made to reach Jahangir Alam by phone, but there was no response.
Prothom Alo has obtained some land deed documents. These show that in 2014, Ayub purchased six decimals of land in Patenga, Chattogram, for Tk 2.1 million. His wife, Mariam Begum, jointly bought four decimals of land in Agrabad under Double Mooring Police Station for Tk 5 million with Nurun Nahar Begum.
According to ACC sources, the commission has found evidence of several properties belonging to Ayub in its preliminary investigation. He owns three plots of land measuring 14, 11.5, and 12 decimals in Boalkhali Upazila, along with some jointly owned lands. In addition, he owns a 4,200-square-foot flat in the upscale Dampara area of Khulshi, Chattogram. The deed lists the price of the flat as Tk 17 million.
Ayub’s brother Yakub works as a contract worker at Jamuna’s Parbatipur depot. Allegations have surfaced that he also owns a flat and other assets in Chattogram. Across different depots, at least 26 of Ayub’s relatives are employed at Jamuna. Multiple attempts to reach Muhammad Ayub on his two mobile phones were unsuccessful as both were found switched off.
More complaints, investigations, and cases at ACC
Some officials in the fuel sector have corruption allegations pending against them at the Chattogram office of the ACC. Investigations are ongoing. The ACC is also investigating well-known CBA leaders from three oil companies.
However, these investigations often take years. Nearly six years after the filing of allegations, the ACC has recently filed a case against Padma Oil Company’s CBA leader Md Nasir Uddin, accusing him of possessing assets beyond known income.
The case statement says Nasir concealed assets worth Tk 21.1 million and acquired unexplained wealth worth Tk 24.5 million. Land and a community centre were found in his name in Anwara, Chattogram, which he failed to declare.
The IMF recommended an international audit to the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), but it was not carried out.
Meghna Oil Company’s CBA general secretary, Md Hamidur Rahman, faces allegations of being involved in oil theft operations. People associated with the oil companies say that depot workers receive an allowance each month from CBA leaders in addition to their salaries.
Furthermore, by helping CBA leaders, responsible officials also get a share from the oil theft business. Some of these officials are from the depots, while others are from the company’s head office. Even BPC officials allegedly receive portions of the stolen oil profits.
‘Such wealth can’t come from salary- allowances’
According to people concerned, if investigations are conducted into oil theft and the sources of wealth of certain CBA leaders and officials, the full picture will emerge.
M Tamim, former special assistant on energy affairs to the chief adviser of the caretaker government, told Prothom Alo that the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the oil companies are extremely opaque. There is no monitoring or oversight. The IMF recommended an international audit, but it was not carried out.
The entire process of importing and selling fuel oil should be thoroughly investigated—no previous government has done so. The sources of wealth of the officers and employees must be traced. Such wealth cannot come from salaries and allowances, he said.
*Mahbubur Rahman from Noakhali, Mujibul Haque from Narayanganj contributed reporting.