ACC launches probe into six NBR officials over facilitating tax evasion

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation against six officials of National Board of Revenue, including NBR Reform Unity Council President and Additional Commissioner Hasan Tareq Rikabdar.

The probe has been launched as they are accused of facilitating large-scale tax evasion and amassing illegal wealth through bribery.

Confirming this development this afternoon, ACC Director General Md Akhter Hossain said the commission had initiated the probe based on the verified allegations.

He told reporters, "ACC does not act as anyone's tool. The decision to investigate followed due diligence."

The six NBR officials are AKM Badiul Alam, member (Income Tax Policy); Mirza Ashiq Rana, additional tax commissioner, Tax Zone-8; Mohammad Morshed Uddin Khan, joint tax commissioner, BCS Tax Academy; Monalisa Shahreen Sushmita, joint commissioner; and Sadhan Kumar Kundu, additional commissioner of the Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate.

According to the ACC, a section of dishonest NBR officials allegedly accepted hefty bribes in exchange for allowing taxpayers to evade taxes and customs duties. In some instances, they reportedly reduced the assessed taxes of certain businesses for personal or mutual benefit. These actions have caused the government to lose significant revenue each year.

There are also allegations that some officials, upon failing to secure bribes, filed false tax evasion cases against business owners, subjecting them to harassment and legal trouble.

The ACC also said that some of the accused officials have reportedly engaged in such practices over the past 20-25 years, using their positions at various NBR stations to enable tax, VAT, and customs evasion for select individuals and companies. In doing so, they are believed to have personally profited and amassed illicit wealth beyond their known sources of income.