ACC asks 17 NBR officers to submit asset details over ‘evidence of illicit wealth’

The move comes weeks after protests at the revenue board forced government intervention

The Anti-Corruption Commission has asked 17 senior and mid-level officers of the National Board of Revenue to submit statements of their assets and liabilities after investigators found “evidence of illicit wealth”.

On Tuesday, ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain said a probe revealed properties held directly by the officers or through proxies that could not be explained by legal sources of income.

Those served notices include NBR member Md Lutful Azeem, income tax policy member AKM Badiul Alam, former additional DG (CIC) Md Alamgir Hossain, Md Tariq Hassan, joint commissioner, Sadhan Kumar Kundu, additional commissioner, Kazi Md Ziauddin, customs and VAT commissioner, Md Kamruzzaman, railway customs commissioner, Abdur Rashid Mia, LTU (VAT) additional commissioner, Mohammad Shihabul Islam, deputy tax commissioner, Mohammad Morshed Uddin Khan, joint commissioner, and Monalisa Shahreen Sushmita, deputy commissioner.

Additional commissioners Mirza Ashik Rana, Hasan Mohammad Tarek Rikabder, Mohammad Mamun Mia, Sahela Siddiq, alongside Lokman Ahmed, tax appeal tribunal commissioner, and MM Fazlul Haque, zone-3 commissioner, were also served with notices.

The move follows earlier ACC announcements. On Jun 29, probes were launched against six NBR officials, followed by five more on Jul 1 and another five on Jul 3.

June had also seen protests at the revenue board under the banner of the NBR Reform Unity Council. Staff staged a week-long pen-down strike, sit-ins, and a two-day “complete shutdown” demanding the chairman’s removal.

The government, alarmed by the disruption, declared NBR services “essential” and threatened stern action if employees did not return to work.

Amid the standoff, the ACC said it was probing corruption allegations against 16 officials, while the government formed an advisory committee with five advisors to resolve the crisis. A breakthrough came after the finance advisor held talks with business leaders, whose mediation prompted the Reform Unity Council to lift the shutdown. Employees returned to work the next day.