NEWS UPDATES
December 2008
Dhaka, Jan 11 – The US and UK have sought assistance from Bangladesh to get back around $200 million the BNP-led government had allegedly taken in bribes to award work orders to different companies.
"The US and UK have sought our assistance in getting their money back. The transaction took place in exchange for getting work permit to various companies. We assured them of providing assistance," law minister Shafique Ahmed told reporters after a meeting with the delegation of the two countries at the Secretariat.
"The law ministry, finance ministry, attorney general's office and Bangladesh Bank should work jointly in assisting them to recover the money," he said.
Deputy chief of US Department of Justice Linda M Samuel, Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Deborah Heprevotte and UK Institute of Management consultant Fedous Ahmed met with the law minister.
Shafique said the money was estimated at $200 million. "There are allegations against the former prime minister's [Khaleda Zia] son Arafat Rahman Coco and one dozen ministers and leaders of the four-party alliance that they took that amount of bribe," he said.
The money is currently in the banks of 20 countries including Singapore, the UK and the United Arab Emirates, he said.
The US and UK have already moved to recover their money, the minister added.
The US government has moved to recover funds worth US$ 3 million allegedly obtained by Coco and kept with a Singapore-based bank, a top justice official has announced. 
US seeks to recover $3m Coco 'bribe money'
WASHINGTON, Jan 10 – The US government has moved to recover funds worth US$ 3 million allegedly obtained by the younger son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia and kept with a Singapore-based bank, a top justice official has announced, after ACC Bangladesh exposed the scam last month.
"The forfeiture action was filed Jan. 8 2009 in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia against funds located in Singapore held by multiple account holders," a Justice Department statement said Friday.
"The forfeiture complaint relates primarily to alleged bribes paid to Arafat "Coco" Rahman, the (younger) son of the former prime minister Khaleda Zia, in connection with public works projects awarded by the Bangladesh government to Siemens AG and China Harbor Engineering Company," the statement said.
"This action shows the lengths to which U.S. law enforcement will go to recover the proceeds of foreign corruption, including acts of bribery and money laundering," said acting assistant attorney general Matthew Friedrich.
According to the Justice Department, bribe payments from Siemens AG and China Harbor Engineering Company were made in U.S. dollars, and the illicit funds flowed through financial institutions in the United States. They were later deposited in accounts in Singapore, thereby subjecting them to U.S. jurisdiction, the Justice Department said.
"Not only will the Department, for example, prosecute companies and executives who violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, we will also use our forfeiture laws to recapture the illicit facilitating payments often used in such schemes," Friedrich said.
"According to the forfeiture complaint, the majority of funds in Coco's account are traceable to bribes allegedly received in connection with the China Harbor project, (meant) to build a new mooring containment terminal at the port in Chittagong," the Justice Department statement said.
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft (Siemens AG), a German corporation, and three of its subsidiaries pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2008, to violations of and charges related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
"Specifically, Siemens Bangladesh admitted that from May 2001 to August 2006, it caused corrupt payments of at least $5,319,839 to be made through purported business consultants to various Bangladeshi officials in exchange for favourable treatment during the bidding process on a mobile telephone project.
"At least one payment to each of these purported consultants was paid from a U.S. bank account," the department said.
The department pointed out that money laundering laws in the United States cover "financial transactions that flow through the United States involving proceeds of foreign offences, including foreign bribery and extortion".
The case was investigated by the FBI's Washington Field Office in cooperation with Bangladeshi law enforcers
Dhaka, Jan 5 – Most of the complaints of corruption and irregularities in the health sector are at the union and upazila levels, said ACC Chairman Hassan Mashuud Chowdhury on Monday.
"Corruption exists at the top level on a more massive scale, but the complaints come from the lower levels," he said.
He made the comments at an ACC meeting on graft prevention with health ministry officials as part of an ongoing initiative to tackle institutional corruption.
An earlier meeting, in November, between the commission and the health ministry identified several areas plagued by corruption.
Pilfering of medicine in government hospitals, irregularities in purchase of items, appointment and transfer of employees, pension systems and drug licenses were discussed at Monday's meeting along with remedial steps.
Talking about gaps in treatment at rural medical centres, he said: "We must ensure that people who come to get medication and treatment braving the cold in winter do not go back empty handed.... Even if you cannot give them medicines, give them an idea about the disease."
An official of the health ministry said that corruption takes place as third and fourth class employees cannot be transferred to another ministry.
"If this law is remedied then corruption will reduce by half."
ACC commissioners Md Habibur Rahman and Abul Hassan Monjur Mannan, health secretary MA Nasiruddin and other officials of the health ministry were among those at Monday's meeting.
|
Site Updates :