Dhaka: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated investigations against five more officials of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) in connection with corruption allegations. These officials are accused of facilitating tax reductions for major taxpayers in exchange for bribes and other benefits.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Deputy Director of the ACC, Md Aktarul Alam, revealed at a media briefing that the officials under investigation include the Commissioner of Customs Excise and VAT of Dhaka East, Kazi Mohammad; Commissioner of Benapole Land Port, Md Kamruzzaman; Deputy Tax Commissioner of Circle-7 in Rajshahi, Md Mamun Miah; Additional Tax Commissioner at the Income Tax Intelligence Unit, Sehela Siddiqa; and Tax Inspector of Tax Zone-2, Dhaka, Lokman Ahmed.
These officials allegedly derived personal gains by reducing the tax liabilities of large taxpayers, thus depriving the government of its rightful tax dues. Alam noted that there were instances where these officials filed false cases to intimidate honest taxpayers who refused to comply with bribery demands.
Furthermore, the accused are reported to have solicited bribes from advanced taxpayers to expedite their tax refunds. Alam emphasized that these officials have amassed significant illicit wealth through corrupt practices, exceeding their known sources of income.