Photo: Messenger
At least 30 officials of the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) have been found to be involved in major irregularities and corruption while some of them have amassed huge wealth.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and departmental cases as well as inquiries by both institutions are going on against these officials. They have also been given show-cause notices. Despite this, they are continuing their jobs.
Twenty-nine of the officials are Director of Dhaka division Abdullah Al Mamun, Director Taufiqul Islam Khan, Deputy Director Saidul Islam, Director (Administration and Finance) Shihab Uddin Khan, Director (Finance) Taufiqur Rahman, Director (Passport) Saifur Rahman, Deputy Director (Finance and Audit) Biplab Kumar Goswami, Deputy Director Maher Uddin Sheikh, Deputy Director (Data and Personalisation) Halima Khatun Shampa, Deputy Director (Keraniganj office) Ismail Hossain, Assistant Director (Director General's Staff Officer) Azizul Islam, System Analyst Nazrul Islam Bhuiyan, Maintenance Engineer Sachchu Mia, Deputy Director (Mohammadpur regional office) Shahadat Hossain, Maintenance Engineer Kaniz Fatema Chowdhury, Assistant Maintenance Engineer Mahmudul Hasan, Deputy Director Rozi Khandakar, Deputy Director Shan Mohammad Waliullah, Assistant Accounts Officer Masud Rana, Deputy Director Abu Noman Zakir, Assistant Director Nasrin Nupur, Deputy Assistant Director Motaleb Hossain, Director (Passport Visa Inspection) AKM Mazaharul Islam, Director (Administration) Tariq Salman, Assistant Director (Tangail) Jebunnahar, Deputy Director R Sayed, Director Mueed Ikram, Assistant Director Motaleb Hossain, and Assistant Director Mahmudul Hasan. DIP Director General Major General Md Nurul Anwar told The Daily Messenger, "I do not understand why the ACC is working slowly in this regard. I think it will finish its work soon.”
“Our departmental investigation will be completed soon. The list of those found guilty will be sent to the ministry so that action can be taken against them,” he added.
An ACC case against DIP’s Dhaka division Director Md Abdullah Al Mamun is ongoing. Mamun has assets of around Tk 5.92 crore. But his documents show he has earned assets of nearly Tk 2.3 crore. In the case, he has been accused of acquiring illegal assets of around Tk 3.61 crore and concealing wealth information. ACC Deputy Director Farid Ahamed Patwary filed the case.
Deputy Director Saidul Islam has assets of around Tk 50 crore. While working at the Mymensingh passport office, he amassed a huge amount of money by issuing emergency passports at ordinary fees through using blank passports and fake no-objection certificates (NOCs). He earned around Tk 50 crore illegally while working in various offices.
The ACC on November 28 in 2019 recommended issuing an asset declaration notice in the name of Director Taufiqul Islam Khan as it was found that he had acquired assets from outside his known sources of income. On January 22 in 2020, after the notice was issued, he submitted a wealth statement to the commission.
He announced the acquisition of movable and immovable assets worth around Tk 4.26 crore, including immovable assets of around Tk 3.22 crore and movable assets of around Tk 1.04 crore. According to the information obtained from the investigation sources of the ACC, evidence of Taufiqul’s acquisition of movable and immovable assets worth around Tk 4.26 crore was found. His income tax documents showed his family and other expenses were Tk 1.07 crore.
The amount of his total assets, including family expenses, was found to be around Tk 5.34 crore. According to investigation sources, excluding liabilities, his net assets amounted to Tk 5.09 crore. The ACC investigation found he had earned around Tk 4.5 crore from his known sources of income. This means he acquired illegal assets of around Tk 58.38 lakh.
On condition of anonymity, some DIP officials said the corrupt officials are tarnishing the image of the department. Some corrupt officials have earned huge sums of money by working in collusion with brokers. There is evidence against these officials of giving passports to brokers instead of applicants.
Moreover, there is a massive inconsistency in the income of some of the officials involved in procurement. However, they are still keeping their jobs. Since the current DIP director general has declared zero tolerance for corruption, there is hope that the corrupt officials will face action.
Messenger/Disha
