Airport projects: Tarique Siddique, 18 others sued for Tk 812cr embezzlement

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed four cases against Tarique Ahmed Siddique, former military adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina; Mohibul Haque, former senior secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, former chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB); and 16 others over embezzlement from various airport-related projects.

They are accused of embezzling Tk 812 crore from four development projects at three airports.

The commission's Director General Md Akhtar Hossain disclosed the information during a press conference at the ACC headquarters yesterday.

He said the cases were filed under multiple sections of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.

According to the case statements, around Tk 200 crore was misappropriated during the construction of a radar under the "Installation of RADAR with CNS-ATM (Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance-Air Traffic Management)" project at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

Another Tk 250 crore was embezzled from the third terminal expansion project at the same airport.

In addition, Tk 212 crore was allegedly embezzled from the expansion project of Osmani International Airport in Sylhet, and Tk 150 crore from the terminal construction and runway development project at Cox's Bazar International Airport.

The accused also include Janendranath Sarkar, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism; Abdul Malek, former chief engineer of CAAB; Habibur Rahman, former superintending engineer of CAAB; project directors of the respective projects; and heads of the contracting firms involved.