PMO official 'tried to scuttle' Boeing deal

The US embassy in Dhaka had accused Prime Minister's Office Secretary Molla Waheeduzzaman of trying to scuttle the Boeing purchase in apparent efforts to personally profit off the deal, said a leaked diplomatic dispatch.
The then US ambassador James F Moriarty at a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on November 5, 2009 raised the allegation against Molla and sent the cable to Washington a few days later.
"The Ambassador has made clear to the PM his acute distrust of Molla, who has consistently tried to scuttle the Boeing sale in apparent efforts to personally profit off the deal."
The November 9, 2009 cable posted on whistleblower website WikiLeaks also said "Molla had absconded from a 2-week Anti-Terrorism Assistance Course in Washington to spend time with his brother in NY."
In response to the ambassador's reassurances regarding Boeing's aircraft sale, Molla Waheeduzzaman said a related leasing deal might be "failing" because of "new conditions" presented by the leasing agent Euro-Atlantic.
"In response to Molla's comments, the PM asserted the pressing need for the delivery of leased aircraft by the end of November lest Biman lose landing rights at JFK airport," the cable said.
The prime minister emphasised that she did not want to re-tender and asked that the landing rights timeline be extended if needed, since "if there is no New York route, what is the point of buying Boeing?"
The cable said the ambassador sought to assuage the prime minister's fears and inquired as to the nature of the perceived new conditions. "The PM turned to her advisors including Cabinet [PMO] Secretary Waheeduzzaman Molla, one of a three-member board who approved the leased contract."
Based on her adviser's comments, the prime minister said the aircraft "wet lease" fee had increased from $5000 to $6000 per hour of usage, the cable said.
"She worried about the political consequences of a failed deal. The Prime Minister noted & I went out for this and if it is failed or if there are new conditions it could be embarrassing. Boeing company has negotiated this. They should provide the planes," wrote Moriarty in the cable.
Putting a note Moriarty wrote, "We have followed up with Boeing, which informed us that the lease arrangement has been finalized to the GOB's [government of Bangladesh] satisfaction."
The ambassador met with the prime minister to review his recent consultations in Washington and preview upcoming events. Topics of the wide-ranging discussion ranged from domestic -- BNP-Awami League issues, civilian-military relations, corruption -- to bilateral (TIFA/trade), regional (Burma, India) and global (climate change and food security) priorities, said the cable.
"The overall conversation was upbeat; however, the Prime Minister voiced concern over perceived hurdles in Biman's lease agreement for Boeing 777s from Euro-Atlantic," said the cable.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd on April 22, 2008 signed the final deal with Boeing to procure eight new-generation aircraft -- four 777-300ER and four 787-8 -- at a cost of $1.26 billion (Tk 8,728 crore).
The deal gives Biman an option to buy four more planes -- two 777-300ER and two 787-8.
The same day the national flag carrier signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US plane-maker to buy two 737-800 aircraft with an option for purchasing another two.
This is the first time Biman independently decided to buy aircraft without any political and government interference since its birth in 1972. Biman became a public limited company in July last year.
The first of the ten Boeing aircraft join Bangladesh Biman fleet on October 22 while another one will come in the third week of November, Biman officials said.
WHAT MOLLA SAYS
Contacted by The Daily Star over the phone, the PMO secretary brushed aside the allegation raised by Moriarty against him.
Molla said he was food secretary when the Boeing purchase deal was signed during tenure of the caretaker regime.
"After my joining the Prime Minister's Office, the new board was formed and I was made a member. But I never opposed Boeing purchase," Molla said. "Even at the November 5 meeting I did not oppose the purchase."
"Moriarty's allegation was completely baseless," he said.
About not joining the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Course in Washington, Molla said he fell sick after the long journey and his brother took him to New York from Washington. Therefore, he could not attend the course.
"But Moriarty wrote me a letter in a very objectionable language which I protested. In response to Moriarty's letter, I told him that I am ready to refund the money spent for me for the course purpose. And finally, I paid Tk 8 lakh," Molla added.