As scandals keep on unfolding, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) appears to scrutinise the tax files of some rich cricketers, both the present and former ones, to ascertain the sources of their ‘hefty’ money.“The Board might do that; it seems we might get some good amount of money as tax,” said a high NBR official.
He went on: “We’ve just got the issue evolving. Normally, we search for tax evasion when we sense that there’s something fishy.”
He indicated that it might take time in launching the scrutiny as they need the go-ahead signal from the NBR Board meeting. “Now we’re busy with budget-related activities as the Finance Minister will announce the next fiscal’s budget this week,” he said.
Allegations have it that some cricketers have had huge money deposited in different banks as FDR, and some of it is not deposited against their original names.
For example, a source said, a top cricketer of the country has FDR worth about Tk 60 crore in different banks which does not match his income.
“This cricketer started his career barely eight years back. He earned the highest amount of Tk 5 crore in a particular year. If this amount of Tk 5 crore is taken for granted as his yearly income, his eight years’ income cannot exceed Tk 40 crore. Now the question is how that cricketer deposited Tk 60 crore in banks in all those eight years,” the NBR official questioned.
Another cricketer, the official said, who plays national cricket wears a wrist watch worth not less than US$ 15,000. “We’ll look into all these things,” he said.
In this regard he said when the NBR went for detecting tax evasion at that time they look into the income, the wealth, the lifestyle and the savings of one person. He said the wealth (if any) inherited by the cricketers will also come under the scanner.
Media reports recently revealed that Mohammad Ashraful, the former captain of Bangladesh national cricket team, involved in spot fixing and he confessed to involvement in fixing in the BPL matches and in international cricket, during his recent interrogations by the ICC’s (International Cricket Council) Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) in Dhaka.
He also mentioned the names of former captains Khaled Mahmud and Khaled Mashud along with former left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique, the reports said. (Source: UNB)
