No govt interference in ACC probe against NBR officials: Finance adviser
There is no government interference in the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) investigation against the National Board of Revenue (NBR) officials who were involved in recent protests, interim government’s finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed has said.
He made the remarks today, Monday, when newspersons questioned him about the initiative after an announcement of the new budget framework for 72 state-owned and autonomous institutions at the Secretariat.
Finance secretary Md. Khairuzzaman Mozumder was also present at the event.
The newspersons asked whether the investigation into six NBR officials during the ongoing movement is a continuation of previous governments’ trend of using the ACC as a political tool.
In response, the finance adviser stated that the finance ministry does not issue directives in this regard; rather, previous governors at times acted as government representatives, but that trend has now changed.
“Some might question the timing of initiating the investigation. But every day, due to the NBR and port shutdown issues, businesspersons have been coming to me with complaints — their accounts are halted, they have been incurring heavy losses, and so on. This situation is completely unacceptable,” Salehuddin Ahmed stressed.
He stated that services related to national interest cannot be suspended, saying, “Whether it’s the NBR or the port — these are not private properties. These are government institutions from which revenue is generated. If you unilaterally suspend such services, it is against the public interest.”
The finance adviser, however, expressed satisfaction that the NBR issue has now been resolved and said the government is optimistic that a logical solution will be reached.
Addressing the officials involved in the demonstration, the adviser said, “Do your work with diligence. Work without bias or fear. Public service must be delivered with transparency and accountability. If that is maintained, no one should have a problem. But if anyone deviates, they must be held accountable, that is only normal.”
Earlier on Sunday, the anti-corruption watchdog launched an investigation into allegations of amassing illegal wealth against six NBR officials, accused of helping taxpayers evade taxes in exchange for bribes.
The officials are - Income Tax Policy Department member AKM Badiul Alam, Directorate of Audit, Intelligence and Investigation’s additional director general Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar, additional tax commissioners Mirza Ashik Rana, Monalisa Shahreen Sushmita, and additional commissioner Sadhan Kumar Kundu, and joint tax commissioner Mohammad Morshed Uddin Khan.
Sources at the NBR told Prothom Alo that at least five of these officials under investigation were directly involved in the recent movement.
Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar is the president of the NBR Reform Unity Council, the banner which organised the protests.