Padma Graft: Suspect Bangladeshi surrenders to Canada RCMP
A Bangladeshi origin businessman accused of conspiring with employees of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. to bribe Bangladeshi officials and help the engineering giant secure a contract for that country’s most important infrastructure project has voluntarily turned himself in to Canadian authorities.
Zulfiquar Ali Bhuiyan, 48, surrendered on Tuesday morning to the RCMP’s national division, which for more than two years has been probing a now disbanded unit of the Canadian engineering firm. The unit, which was based out of SNC’s Oakville, Ont., office, allegedly conspired to bribe its way to the top of a competition to supervise construction of a six-kilometre Bangladeshi bridge, reports The Globe and Mail.
Bangladesh key economic indicators – Dec 4
DAILY INDICATORS
Tuesday Previous Taka/US $ (inter-bank) 77.75-77.7550 77.75-77.75 Call money rate (inter-bank) 06.00-07.75 05.50-07.75 Dhaka Stock Exchange index 4,310.72 4,197.92 ------------------------------------------------------------
MONTHLY
CURRENT PREVIOUS Growth in: Consumer price index (BBS) Change yr/yr (pct) Oct. 7.03 7.13
M2 supply (bln taka) (BB) Sept. 6,267.23 6,199.89 Forex reserves ($bln)(BB) Nov. 17.11 17.35
Exports(FOB) ($mln)(BB) Sept. 2,590...
Banks asked to take police protection to secure cash handling
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has advised the commercial banks to take police protection to ensure security for their cash management, particularly in Automated Teller Machine (ATM) operations, during the shutdowns and blockades.
The central bank sent a letter Tuesday to the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) requesting him to provide police forces to the banks in accordance with their requirements.
The central bank took the measure against the backdrop of difficulties in managing cash p...
The central bank took the measure against the backdrop of difficulties in managing cash p...
Insignificant progress in graft index, Bangladesh ranks 16
Bangladesh has earned an “insignificant” progress in its fight against corruption in the current year, according to a survey report globally released yesterday by the Berlin-based NGO Transparency International.
Bangladesh ranked the 16th most corrupt country in the world in the graft index, scored 27 points out of 100 this year, one point higher than the last year when it became 13th.
Chairperson of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) trustee board, Sultana Kamal, however, termed it insignificant, as the country’s position still remains quite low.
BGB opposes construction activity in Tripura border
Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) troopers have opposed the construction of a culvert, creating tension along the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura, an official said here Tuesday.
“When the workers were building a culvert adjoining a bridge in bordering Belonia town (in southern Tripura) Monday, the BGB jawans threatened to open fire unless the erection of the culvert was stopped,” said an official of the south Tripura district administration.
Local people immediately launched a road blockade i...
Local people immediately launched a road blockade i...
Bangladesh to be 3rd in league table of death penalty
Bangladesh will be catapulted to third in the league table of death penalty countries, behind Iran and China if the executions of 152 border guards to death over ‘2009 mutiny’ are carried out, a process that was slammed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, amongst others.
In young and developing democracies like Bangladesh, the imprisonment of dissenting voices is commonplace, but not unsurprising. Yet it is the incendiary act of executing high-level opposition leaders before an election which risks plunging Bangladesh into turmoil. Criticism of legal processes aside, it is this challenge to the very fundamentals of a modern democracy that must concern all.
