ACC forms probe committee to look into alleged corruption by Matiur Rahman
Staff Correspondent
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has formed a probe committee to investigate the allegations of corruption and acquisition of illegal wealth by Matiur Rahman, president of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal.
A three-member team has been formed under the leadership of ACC Deputy Director Anwar Hossain, said ACC Secretary Khorsheda Yasmin.
The development comes after Matiur Rahman, also a member of the board, was removed from his post.
He has been attached to the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Finance Ministry, according to a ministry notification issued today.
It said the decision will be effective immediately.
He has been given no specific designation in his new role, effectively making him an Officer on Special Duty (OSD).
This marks the first time in history that an NBR tribunal president has been removed from their position.
Earlier today, Matiur, who also serves as a director of the state-owned Sonali Bank PLC, was asked not to attend a meeting of the bank's board, according to sources.
A high official of the bank confirmed that Matiur Rahman did not come to the meeting today.
His removal from the directorship is expected later this week, sources from the Financial Institutions Division of the Ministry of Finance and Sonali Bank said.
Sonali Bank officials, seeking anonymity, confirmed that Matiur Rahman had been asked not to attend the upcoming meeting, which began at 11:00am today.
Sources have indicated that the Financial Institutions Division has verbally informed Sonali Bank that Matiur should not attend the board meeting.
Consequently, the bank advised Matiur to abstain from attending, and he has complied.
However, the Financial Institutions Division informed TBS that the final decision regarding Rahman's removal has not been made yet, as the finance minister is currently in Vienna. He will return on June 27, and until then, Rahman will retain his position.
On 4 June, the Anti-Corruption Commission started an inquiry against Md Matiur Rahman over allegations of amassing illegal wealth and money laundering.
The allegations against him surfaced after a video of Matiur's son, Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, who bought a goat at a price of Tk 15 lakh, went viral before Eid-ul-Adha.
