Motiur Rahman, mired in goat scandal, is transferred from NBR

Motiur’s son Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat made headlines when he posted on Facebook about buying a goat for Tk 1.5 million

Revenue officer Motiur Rahman has been transferred from the National Board of Revenue.

A notice issued on Sunday on the matter said, “Motiur Rahman, president of the National Board of Revenue’s Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal, has been attached to the Internal Resources Division of the Ministry of Finance.”

The order signed by Deputy Secretary Makima Begum did not note any of his new responsibilities.

An NBR official told bdnews24.com, “Motiur Rahman will be assigned to the Internal Resources Division as an officer on special duty (OSD). He is not being given any new responsibilities. Senior officials are waiting for further instructions.”

A man named Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat went viral on social media after he posted on Facebook about purchasing a goat for Eid-ul-Azha at a price of Tk 1.5 million. People wondered at the source of his income. In social media posts, Ifat identified Motiur as his father.

However, in a TV interview, Motiur denied that Ifat was his son and claimed he had two children - a son and a daughter.

At one point Nizam Uddin Hazari, Feni-2 MP, appeared on a television programme and claimed that Ifat was Motiur’s son from his second marriage.

Motiur entered the civil service in 1994 as an officer in the 11th BCS (Customs and Excise).

Before his appointment to the tribunal, Motiur worked at the Bangladesh Commercial Council in Brussels, the Chattogram Customs and Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU), and has served as VAT commissioner.

Throughout a 30-year career, he has been investigated for graft by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

In an interview given to a private TV channel, he said:

“The ACC has investigated me four times and found that I did not engage in any corruption.”

In addition to his government job, Motiur is involved in business and has invested in the stock market. Regarding his massive income, Motiur said:

“I have shares in a group of companies who own 300 acres of land. I have investments in some factories. But I do not own all of the 300 acres, nor the entirety of the factories. Our family has only invested.”

Motiur was a student in the Department of Finance at Dhaka University and is a government-nominated director of the state-owned Sonali Bank.

On Feb 1, 2022, the Ministry of Finance appointed him as Sonali Bank director for a three-year term.