Five people were involved in misappropriation of 33,000 metric tonnes of wheat worth Tk 85 crore provided by a Korean company for the government, reveals an Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) probe.According to the ACC investigation, five Bangladeshi nationals – local shipping agent ‘JK Shipping Lines’ proprietor Nurul Islam and its chief executive officer and Nurul’s father Kamrul Islam, their business partner Md Akhtaruzzaman (Mamun Khan), managing director of Rokeya Automatic Flour Mills Md Saiful Islam and owner of M/S Malek Majhi Godown Malek Majhi — in collusion with each other sold the wheat from the warehouse of Malek Majhi in the local market in 2014.
However, the national anti-graft body is unable to press charges against them due to legal complications.
On May 31, 2015, Azizul Islam, managing partner of Sheikh Ashraf Ali and Sons, the local exclusive agent of the Korean company M/S Samjin cs & t Co Ltd, filed a case against the five people with Bandar Police Station of Chittagong city in connection with the wheat plundering.
Police transferred the case to the ACC as it is scheduled offence. Later, the ACC conducted investigation into the allegation.
Although the ACC found the involvement of the five people in embezzling the wheat, it could not submit any charge-sheet before the court due to the legal complications arisen following the amendment to its law.
After the amendment brought to the Anti Corruption Commission Act in 2016, the jurisdiction of carrying out any probe into any forgery and cheating goes to the police.
ACC deputy director of Chittagong district office and the investigation officer of the case HM Akhtaruzzaman said that during his probe, he found the evidence of cheating and misappropriation of wheat consignment by the five accused.
But, he said, the ACC has now no jurisdiction to submit the charge-sheet before the court in the case since the case will be transferred to Bandar Police Station again for investigation following the amendment to the ACC Act.
According to ACC sources, South Korean company M/S Samjin cs & t Co Ltd signed an agreement with the Food Ministry of Bangladesh in 2014 to supply wheat. President of the Korean company Hco Man Woog appointed Sheikh Ashraf Ali and Sons, a company of Khulna, as the local agent of his company.
The South Korean company, as per the agreement, supplied the first consignment of 19,500 metric tonnes of wheat through Mongla port in July 2014.
When the second consignment of 33,000 metric tonnes wheat, worth Tk 85 crore, reached the Chittagong port on August 6 in 2014, a dispute erupted between the company and the local agent over commission.
Finally, Sheikh Ashraf Ali and Sons filed a case with a Dhaka court against the South Korean national Woong for realising its commission and the court directed to stock the wheat haul under the Korean national until the case is disposed of.
In the meantime, the Food Ministry refused to accept the wheat as the delivery date already expired. And the shipping agent stocked it in a local godown of Chittagong as per the court order.
The five accused — Md Akhtaruzzaman (Mamun Khan), Md Saiful Islam, Nurul Islam, Kamrul Islam and Malek Majhi — sold the whole consignment of wheat in the local market violating the court order and without the permission of the local agent or Korean company president Woong.
The wheat plundering came to light when Sheikh Azizul Islam, managing partner of the local agent, in 2015 managed a sale order for 7,000 metric tons of wheat from the court to realise his commission.
When he went to the warehouse, he found no wheat there.-STAFF REPORTER
