Tk 6,195cr financial anomalies detected
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detected financial anomalies involving Tk 6,195 crore at the statutory bodies, ministries and state-run banks.
The constitutional body has raised 285 objections to those irregularities in 17 audit reports recently submitted to the president.
The anomalies were revealed at the maiden press conference of the CAG office held in the capital yesterday. The CAG office has never before organised a media briefing.
"The amount can be realised and adjusted," said CAG Masud Ahmed in his speech.
He however said the figures did not reflect the whole picture of irregularities in the country's financial sector. "It is just a sample."
Of the amount, the most irregularities in terms of money took place at Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC).
The auditors raised 21 objections involving Tk 2,628.28 crore for the irregularities in licencing at the commission between 2001-2002 and 2009-10.
The auditors found irregularities in awarding licence to mobile operator Warid Telecom International LLC in 2005. The BTRC gave the licence without open auction, although it had earlier decided to award licence to land and mobile phone operators through open biddings.
The licence was awarded to Warid although it had not submitted the mandatory financial proposals to the BTRC.
Besides, the performance bank guarantee was not cancelled although Warid Telecom breached agreements, which eventually cost the BTRC Tk 13.34 crore.
Warid got the licence at a time when the BTRC had decided not to give fresh licence to telecom operators.
The BTRC was also found guilty of realising less fee during transfer of 70 percent shares by Warid Telecom to Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. It cost the government Tk 76.96 crore, according to the audit reports.
The country has also lost a huge amount of money as the BTRC did not realise spectrum charges from various mobile operators. The BTRC even lost revenue income of Tk 20.99 crore as the money was not paid as stamp fees during the transfer of Warid shares to Airtel.
The country has lost Tk 53 crore as the BTRC could not realise terrestrial, satellite and microwave charges from Ekushey Television and penalties slapped on the private TV channel for the non-payment.
The audit reports also detected irregularities in frequency allocation to mobile operators.
The auditors have also found irregularities involving Tk 880.53 crore at the Janata and the Rupali banks in case of load rescheduling and interest waiver in 2010-2011.
Besides, anomalies involving Tk 796.09 crore have been unearthed at the Janata, Sonali, Agrani banks, Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, BASIC Bank, and Bangladesh Development Bank in 2009-2010.
Separately, irregularities involving Tk 713.52 crore at the Agrani Bank and Tk 663.17 crore at the Sonali Bank have been found in 2010-11.
One of the reports raised objections for irregularities totalling Tk 43.65 crore at the Local Government Engineering Department in 2009-2010.
It was found that deals were signed through false publication of tenders. Even the work was executed without publishing tenders in the most circulated newspapers.
Around Tk 155.51 crore was lost as the railway ministry could not realise land licence fees, penalties, VAT, income tax at source from private organisations and compensation from the government agencies. The ministry also realised less licence fees than the original rates from Grameenphone.
Masud Ahmed said on average Tk 110 was realised or adjusted against every Tk 1 spent by the CAG office.
Shymal Kanti Chowdhury, deputy comptroller and auditor general, said on average Tk 8,000 crore to Tk 10,000 crore was realised and adjusted every year. Only Tk 7,880 crore was realised or adjusted in 2013-14.
The CAG office has been struggling to perform its duties due to lack of adequate workforce, according to Masud Ahmed.
The CAG office has to audit 22,431 offices, including all ministries and divisions and their field offices, all local authorities, statutory bodies, embassies, foreign offices of the state-run banks and Bangladesh Biman and also the whole expenditure of the development budget.
It now has a workforce of 7,818. The constitutional body has sent a time-befitting manpower structure to the government nearly two years ago.
Md Amir Khasru, comptroller general of defence finance, Abul Foyez Md Abid, deputy comptroller and auditor general, Md Moslem Uddin, director general of Financial Management Academy, Md Abul Kashem, comptroller general of accounts, and Wazir Ahmed Fateh, additional director general (Finance) of Bangladesh Railway, were present at the press conference.
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