Illegal money transaction rampant at Drug Administration: TIB

This Star photo shows TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman addresses a press conference at a hotel in Dhaka on November 06, 2014.

Drug Administration Department sees illegal transaction of money all through -- from issuing licence to drug registration, according to study of Transparency International Bangladesh.

Around Tk 500 to Tk 15 lakh are exchanged for the issuance of new licences for pharmaceutical companies, its renewal, project handover, drugs registration etc, the report said.

Drug companies have to pay Tk 5 to 10 lakh to the department for getting licences for Tk 50,000 to 1 lakh for its renewal.

The largest illegal transaction takes place for project handover. Approximately Tk 10 to 15 lakh are transacted for this reason. The clients pay Tk 1 to Tk 1.5 lakh for drug registration and between Tk 6,000 and 7,000 for examining sample.

Officials at the department and their clients are mostly engaged in the corruptions, the graft watchdog said while presenting findings of the study at a press conference at its Dhanmondi office in Dhaka.

Expressing concerned over the survey outcome, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said consumers become the victims of the unlawful acts.