A Tk300 crore matching-grant programme under the government’s Livestock and Dairy Development Project (LDDP), funded through a World Bank loan, has come under allegations of widespread irregularities, including grants to questionable entities and influential business figures.
The LDDP was intended to support entrepreneurs who lacked sufficient funds to implement livestock-related ventures. Under the matching-grant scheme, the project would provide up to half of the investment required to establish modern facilities, with the entrepreneur contributing the remainder.
However, a Star News investigation conducted across 10 districts found that several grants were allegedly awarded to paper-based or non-existent institutions, while some prominent business executives and an NGO received grants.
The investigation identified Tamara Hasan Abed, eldest daughter of late BRAC founder Fazle Hasan Abed; PRAN Group Managing Director Elias Mridha; Akhtar Group Managing Director M Akhtaruzzaman; Akij Venture Group Chairman Sheikh Shamim Uddin; and Bogura-based development organisation TMSS among the recipients.
Each reportedly received Tk2.62 crore under the matching-grant programme for dairy hubs and village-based milk collection centres. The individuals and organisation were contacted by email for explanations about how they qualified for the grants, but no response was received.
The LDDP had allocated $33 million, or around Tk300 crore, for matching grants. The stated objective was to help entrepreneurs who were unable to implement their projects because of financial constraints.
The investigation also found alleged irregularities among grant recipients in different districts.
In Kaliganj, Gazipur, an organisation named Shanpapri Mithai Ghar reportedly received Tk12.45 lakh. However, investigators found no institution operating under that name or at the address listed in official records.
Documents identified a woman named Kanta as the proprietor of the organisation. She is the wife of Dr Yusuf Habib, who was serving as the Kaliganj upazila livestock officer at the time.
Bank account records reportedly showed that Dr Yusuf Habib withdrew Tk9 lakh from the grant at different times. He could not provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the allegation of misappropriation.
In neighbouring Kapasia, Juhi Labib Dairy also received a grant. Investigators reportedly found a similar situation there. Its owner, Jahangir Alam, claimed that operations had been suspended because of political attacks, but he could not show the machinery and equipment associated with the project.
According to the investigation, irregularities in the distribution of grants took place under the direct supervision of project directors and deputy directors serving at different times.
Among the officials named is LDDP Deputy Director Dr Hiranmoy Biswas.
The project directors included Abdur Rahim and Dr Md Jasim Uddin, while Shah Alam Biswas and Harun-or-Rashid served as deputy directors. Golam Rabbani and Md Jahangir Hossain served as chief technical coordinators.
Shah Alam Biswas is currently the deputy director of the Central Chicken Farm in Mirpur. He declined to speak on camera.
The current LDDP Director, Dr Md Mostafa Kamal, reportedly did not answer repeated phone calls and was also unavailable at his office.
Meanwhile, young entrepreneur Sheikh Sadaf Islam of Kendua in Netrokona had invested Tk3 crore after being assured that he would receive a grant.
Sadaf had reportedly fulfilled all the required conditions and secured the highest score among applicants, making him eligible for a Tk2.62 crore grant. But he did not receive the promised funding and is now facing severe financial difficulties after making the investment.
The investigation raises questions over how World Bank-funded matching-grant programmes are administered and whether support intended for financially constrained entrepreneurs is reaching the people for whom it was designed.
