Dhaka Bureau: Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) has not submitted a full report to the court regarding the fertilizer embezzlement of Tk 582 crore. The High Court expressed its displeasure with this incident. The court said, ‘Is the money eaten in the air? Who is involved in this scam? Who embezzled this money? Name them. No concessions will be made to the corrupt. If necessary, I will put you in jail directly from the court. Justice Md. on Thursday (June 15). The High Court bench of Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat made angry remarks.
Advocate Mollah Kismat Habib appeared in court on behalf of BCIC. Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan appeared on behalf of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). Later, the court ordered July 9 to submit the full investigation report. On Thursday (January 5), a report was published in a national daily under the headline ‘Taka 582 crore fertilizer embezzlement’. When lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan brought the report to the court’s attention, the court passed this order.
In a part of the report, it is said that 72 thousand metric tons of chemical fertilizers imported by the government have been embezzled by M/s Poton Traders, the contractor in charge of transportation, without being delivered to the warehouse after release from the port.
The government has suffered a financial loss of Tk 582 crore. M/s Potton Traders is a company owned by former Member of Parliament Kamrul Ashraf Khan (Poton). Kamrul Ashraf Khan is the president of the Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA), a fertilizer traders’ organization. Concerned people claim that he mainly controls the fertilizer business in the country.
