Charge Sheet Filed Against Four for Corruption in Chattogram City

The Anti-Corruption Commission has filed a charge sheet against Mohammad Saifuddin, former Chief Accounts Officer of Chattogram City Corporation for embezzling millions of taka and corruption. Along with him three others including bank officials have been implicated in the case.

The charge sheet is related to irregularities and fraud in the Port Connecting Road Development project, which involved taking a loan of nearly 24 crore taka and causing a loss of 4.5 crore taka to the government. The hearing for the charge sheet acceptance will take place on October 28 at the Chittagong Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court.

During the investigation, the ACC found that Saifuddin had abused his power, providing illegal benefits to the contractors ‘Messrs Rana Builders’ and ‘Messrs Rana Builders-Saleh Ahmed (JV)’. Instead of depositing the project funds into the designated bank account, Saifuddin issued cheques for 25 crore taka to the contractors, who then absconded leaving the road project incomplete.

The investigation also revealed that Saifuddin failed to deposit VAT and income tax deductions worth 8.36 crore taka into the government treasury and embezzled provident fund money from employees. The investigation began in 2020, leading to Saifuddin’s dismissal in September 2022 and forced retirement in 2023 after further financial misconduct was discovered.