NBR official suspended for leaking ‘state secrets’

The government yesterday suspended an official of the National Board of Revenue on allegations of breaching service discipline by 'disclosing a highly confidential state document'.

Mokitul Hasan, who was serving as the second secretary of customs policy at the NBR, has also been made an officer on special duty, according to a government notification.

Hasan's actions violated the service conduct rules, prompting the authorities to initiate departmental proceedings against him following a preliminary investigation, the notification said.

As per the government rules, Hasan has been temporarily suspended from his duties.

Hasan was involved in leaking a document related to the tariff negotiation between Bangladesh and the United States Trade Representative, The Daily Star has learnt from people with knowledge of the matter.

In May, Bangladesh and the US signed a non-disclosure agreement to protect sensitive information related to the negotiations.

A case has been filed in connection with the incident under the Official Secrecy Act with the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, Officer-in-Charge Imaul Haque told to The Daily Star yesterday.