ACC investigating DNCC administrator Azaz over alleged power abuse, bribery

He was appointed as the new DNCC administrator in February

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an inquiry against Mohammad Azaz, the administrator of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), on allegations of abuse of power, irregularities, corruption, and bribery.

A letter signed by Ishita Rony, director of the ACC's Daily and Recent Complaints Cell, on Thursday said the commission decided to take necessary measures to investigate the allegation and sent it to the director general (Investigation-1).

Azaz, chairman of the River and Delta Research Centre (RDRC), was appointed as the new DNCC administrator in February. A gazette notification issued by the Local Government Division appointed him as a full-time, contract-based administrator for one year.

Following the July Uprising, ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India. Since then, the elected Dhaka North mayor Atiqul Islam like other Awami League leaders, has not been seen in public.

Subsequently, Mohammadpur Police informed the media of his arrest at Mohakhali DOHS in Dhaka.

As part of extensive administrative changes after the formation of the interim government, elected mayors in 12 city corporations across the country were removed and administrators were appointed on Aug 19, 2024.

Earlier, the ACC had pointed out a “flaw” in the cancellation of the lease for the Gabtoli cattle market and said the decision created a risk of losing a large amount of government revenue.

Based on the allegation, an ACC team conducted a raid on the DNCC office on Apr 30. They spoke with the administrator and members of the Tender Evaluation Committee and collected necessary documents.

At that time, an ACC media statement said that initial allegations were found over the loss of government revenue through irregularities in the tender for the Gabtoli cattle market lease.

The ACC learnt that the highest bid for the 2025 market lease was approximately Tk 220 million, which was much higher than the government-fixed rate (over Tk 140 million).

Although the Evaluation Committee recommended giving the lease to the highest bidder, the decision was cancelled, and it was decided to collect revenue directly. The justification given was that the notification was not published on the website of the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA).

However, the ACC received expert opinion stating that the market lease is not covered under government procurement policy, and there is no mandatory requirement to publish a notification on the website in this case.

The statement added that as initial evidence of cancelling the tender through a non-transparent process was found, the raiding team submitted a report to the commission seeking guidance on the next course of action.

Azaz, however, did not respond to phone calls or WhatsApp messages seeking his comments on the allegations.