Court orders ACC probe into Tk 1.32bn embezzlement charges against WASA MD Taqsem

The national anti-graft agency has been given until Apr 4 to submit its findings

A court has directed the Anti-Corruption Commission to launch an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of Tk 1.32 billion by Taqsem A Khan, the managing director of Dhaka WASA, and eight others.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman ordered the national graft agency to report back by Apr 10 after a hearing in a case over the matter on Monday, according to Gaffar Hossain, the lawyer for the plaintiff.

The case was filed by Shahab Uddin Sarkar, secretary of the WASA employees' cooperative society, in November last year.

Dhaka WASA engineers Sharmin Haque Amir, Md Aktaruzzaman and Badrul Alam, revenue inspectors Mia Md Mizanur Rahman and Md Zakir Hossain, and Janata Bank's former deputy general manager Shyamal Biswas, deputy secretary Sheikh Enayet Ullah and deputy chief accounting officer Salekur Rahman.

According to the plaintiff, the Dhaka WASA Employees Multipurpose Cooperative Society received Tk 996.5 million between Jul 16, 2017 and Jun 30, 2018 from the water authority in commission for their revenue collection work. And from 2018 to 2019, the society received Tk 341.8 million for the same work.

Of this, Tk 17.9 million was deposited to the society's account in fiscal 2017-2018, he said. Citing the Department of Cooperatives' audit report, the case alleges that the remaining Tk 1.32 billion was embezzled from six banks by various cheques.

The plaintiff further alleges that the accused 'stole' assets worth around Tk 2 billion from the society.

Previously, another Dhaka court had rejected a plea by the plaintiff to press embezzlement charges against the accused in June 2022. At the time, the judge ruled that only the ACC had the authority to start a case and conduct an investigation if the alleged crime involved government assets or was carried out by government employees while performing their official duties.