Revenue embezzlement: 2 Ctg customs officials sent to jail after surrender

A Chattogram court today sent two customs officials to jail in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over embezzlement of government revenue of Tk 24.33 lakh, in collaboration with each other, in a consignment imported from China.

Chattogram Metropolitan District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman sent the two customs officials to jail after they surrendered before the court in connection with the case, said ACC's lawyer Advocate Kazi Sanowar Ahmed Lavlu.

The accused are Md Robiul Islam Molla, assistant revenue officer (ARO) (Section –B), and Nasiruddin Mahmud, revenue officer (RO) of (Sub-team 3), at Chattogram Customs House.

"The accused appeared before the court and prayed for bail in the case but the court sent them to jail rejecting their bail petition," said the lawyer.

Abu Sayeed, deputy director of ACC in Dhaka, filed the case with Chattogram ACC Integrated Office-1, accusing the two customs officials and and two others -- Md Iqbal Hossain Mazumder, owner of Neptune Trading Agency, and Md Abdul Mannan of Banalata Shipping Agency.

The incident took place between December 15 and December 27, 2016.

According to the case statement, one Nazrul Islam, proprietor of M/S Royal Trade International, imported different items of electronic components from China and handed over the import-related documents to C&F agent Iqbal to unload the goods from Chattogram port after paying revenue and completing other tasks. But Iqbal handed over the records of the items to Mannan of Banalata Shipping Agency without any consent of Nazrul Islam for unloading the consignment.

However, Mannan later declared the consignment as "Electronic Component- saws" instead of declaring four electronics items which have different HS Codes in custom server. The agent also changed documents making forged records and papers to release the consignment, said the case statement.

The C&F agent took full tax money from the importer but did not pay it properly by hiding information and forging the documents.

The two customs officials released the consignment without verifying the papers and any physical examination. Meanwhile, Customs Intelligent and Investigation Department (CIID) gleaned the information but before the seizure, the agents released the goods and sent those to Dhaka dodging huge tax revenue.