What an innovation! No demand for goods, no tender for procurement, and yet corrupt DESA officials embezzled funds by just printing some fake newspapers carrying purchase tenders and then simply gulped down the money.
The Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC) has detected embezzlement of Tk 40 lakhs in the form of arranging a false tender bidding by some high officials of the Dhaka Electric Supply Authorities (DESA) along with some contractors.
These officials have printed fake newspapers showing a tender notice. Again in the notice, they used a Department of Film and Publication number belonging to a different project of a different organisation.
The BAC is now seeking the prime minister's nod for filing a case against 13 people on charge of corruption. A
file of the First Information Report (FIR) has been sent to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
A competent source said the accused are now lobbying hard to make the PMO reject the FIR approval. Earlier, these people tried to persuade the BAC officials.
Sources said on September 28, 1997 Director,
purchase and inventory directorate, Abdul Hye floated a tender inviting bidding from genuine manufacturers or suppliers to supply 475 molted case circuit breaker (MCCB) of 200 ampere.
As per the terms of the tender, it was open till October 21, 1997 and proposals could be submitted till October 23. The bid documents would be opened before the bidders at 12 noon on October 23.
The DESA documents showed that this tender notice was printed in The Bangladesh Times on October 12, 1997, Dainik Rupali on October 11 and in Dainik
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Sangbad on October 10. Abdul Hye attested the photocopies of the printed tender notice.
The advertisement carried a DFP number of 22207-1/10. Later, after scrutinising the DFP register it was found that this number belonged to a project of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation. Page 83 of the DFP advertisement distribution registry book number 21/97 allocated the number for an advertisement to be published in the Dainik Uttara. In other words, it was not given to the DESA or sent to Bangladesh Times, Sangbad or Rupali.
It is alleged that whole thing was orchestrated by some DESA officials in connivance with Techno Union, the suppliers that won the bid. In the process, the whole fund for the project has been misappropriated.
Records further showed that the DESA general manager for customer service, south and north, sought requisition orders for different types of circuit breakers. But there was no copy of any of these requisition orders.
There is also no evidence that these circuit breakers were handed over to the general manager concerned of the DESA.
"In other words, not a single equipment has been purchased under this tender," said a source.
Moreover, the four bidders that
had participated in this fake tender were based in Chittagong. Interestingly, two of the bidders used the same address.
"This happened because the tender notice never came out in any newspaper," the source added.
"Whereas in other tender notices, bidders go to the degree of hiring musclemen to take away bid from each other. I'm not going to buy that there was no competition for this particular DESA bid," a BAC official said.
The BAC official added that their investigation found out that these four bidders were fake.
The BAC in its probe report said the culprits embezzled Tk 37.97 lakh by not purchasing 475 circuit breakers -- each at the rate of Tk 7,995.
It held DESA officials Abdul Hye, ex-deputy director Akmal Hossain, Assistant Director Jashimuddin Ahmed, superintendent Engineer Ataul Masud, ex-additional director Giasuddin, GM (North) Tawhid Ahmed Siddiqui, Sub-divisional Engineer Dewan AK Azad, Superintendent Engineer Reza Shah Alam, inventory officials Masum Reza and Abdul Wadud and Director Syed Anamul Haq. Besides, the BAC also accused proprietor of Techno Union Abdul Hafiz Salawat and Director Golam Kibria of the corruption.