A contracting firm, in charge of transportation, has reportedly embezzled 72,000 tonnes of government-imported chemical fertiliser worth Tk 582 crore.
M/s Poton Traders, a company owned by former MP Kamrul Ashraf Khan Poton who is also president of Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA), is allegedly involved in the embezzlement involving non-delivery of the fertilizer to the warehouse.
The High Court has ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to conduct an enquiry into the allegation against the Poton Traders over the reported corruption. The ACC has also been asked to submit the enquiry report to the HC in 60 days.
The higher court also ordered the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) to explain the reported allegation. Chairman of the institution has been asked to submit the explanation to the court by January 20.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat Lizu issued the order on a suo-moto (voluntary) rule on Thursday (January 5) following a news report published in a Bengali daily on this issue on the day.
The HC bench also issued a rule questioning why the failure and negligence of the authorities concerned to take action against those involved in the embezzlement should not be declared illegal.
ACC lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan drew the attention of HC bench in this regard. Deputy Attorney general AKM Amin Uddin Manik and Assistant Attorney General Anna Khanam Koli represented the state in the court.
According to the report, the Poton Traders has misappropriated 72,000 tonnes of chemical fertiliser without carrying it to warehouses after release from the port. Kamrul Ashraf Khan Poton mainly controls the fertilizer business in the country.
The fertilizer embezzled by Potton Traders has come to light in two investigations by the BCIC, a government body under the Ministry of Industries. The fertilizers were released between November 2021 and May 15 in 2022. The BCIC or any other organisation has not taken any legal action even after seven months of non-supply of fertilizer. The BCIC, however, sent a letter to the ministry on December 20 last seeking instruction on taking legal action, says the news report.
On November 10, the BCIC formed two investigation committees to verify whether imported chemical fertilizers are stored in Poton Traders’ warehouses. The two enquiry committees submitted the investigation report on December 8. According to the investigation report, the Poton Traders had informed at the beginning of last October that they have 66,000 metric tonnes of fertilizer in their six warehouses. However, the on-site investigation showed that there is only 1,300 metric tonnes of fertilizer in the warehouse. This fertilizer is also unusable and not distributable at the farmer level.
The investigation report also states that the general manager of Poton Traders Shahadat Hossain and general manager (management) of the company Nazmul Hossain have admitted the lack of stock of fertilizer and have also signed the document in this regard.
The BCIC’s letter to the ministry said that the Poton Traders had promised to supply all urea fertilizers to government warehouses before the season (by August 29). However, the company did not supply the fertilizer on time. The BCIC has also held several rounds of discussions with Kamrul Ashraf Khan, but he did not supply fertilizer.
The BCIC is a loss-making government company. According to the data of Bangladesh Economic Review-2022, the company in the last seven financial years has made a loss of more than Tk. 3,485 crore. Out of this, the amount of loss during July-April of 2021-2022 financial year is Tk. 552 crore. The BCIC made a profit of Tk. 103 crore in the financial year 2014-2015.
