BPC concern looted authorities treasury price Rs 472.7 crore

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The federal government has been disadvantaged of Rs 472.7 crore for 21 irregularities by Customary Asiatic Oil Firm, a subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Company.

The disclosure got here after the Comptroller and Auditor Basic (CAG) perused the books of the corporate from the monetary years 2012-13 to 2019-20 and made subject visits.

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Customary Asiatic Oil Firm (SAOCL), a 50-50 three way partnership between BPC and Asiatic Industries, is concerned within the mixing and advertising of engine oil and lubricating oil for autos; advertising of diesel oil; Advertising and distribution of bitumen, liquefied petroleum gasoline and furnace oil; and the availability of jet gasoline to plane at Cox’s Bazar Worldwide Airport.

The discrepancies embrace embezzlement by high officers, excessive charges, extra time, lacking funds, irregularities in cost of litigation charges and violation of Revenue Tax ordinance and VAT guidelines.

In keeping with the report, Moinuddin Ahmed, one in every of its 5 administrators and chairman of its administration advisory committee, have been discovered to be concerned in irregularities.

For instance, from the monetary years 2011-12 to 2013-14, the corporate is lacking Rs 194.7 crore as a result of non-payment of dues for lubricant oil bought by SAOCL to the Ahmed-owned Asiatic Oil Firm.

The books of SACOL present that AOCL had introduced checks towards the challan quantity however the checks weren’t deposited in its financial institution accounts.

Additional, as per the Corporations Act, such transactions between affiliate firms usually are not permitted.

The CAG sought authorized motion towards AOCL for non-payment of dues, saying “this can be a severe irregularity”.

Ahmed additionally withdrawn Rs 86.7 crore from the financial institution accounts of SAOCL for the needs of the Firm from the monetary yr 2011-12 to 2013-14 with out manufacturing of any vouchers or advance challans.

He additionally withdrawn Rs 23.11 crore prematurely for the monetary years 2012-12 to 2015-16, as there was no withdrawal restrict for Ahmed. He by no means returned the quantity.

When the CAG sought an evidence from the corporate for the irregularity, it stated the quantity was native expenditure for import of lube base oil, components and different uncooked supplies.

The reply was not passable and the CAG demanded motion towards these accountable.

Ahmed is being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Fee for 2 corruption incidents. His passport has been confiscated and a journey ban has been imposed on him.

With the cash embezzled from SAOCL, Ahmed purchased two flats in Dhaka’s upcoming Gulshan Avenue in his spouse’s identify for Rs 12.37 crore and 6 flats in Dhaka’s Lalmatia, North Kamalapur, Baridhara, Bashundhara and Halisahar in Chattogram for Rs 10.31 crore. , discovered within the investigation of the ACC.

He additionally withdrawn Rs 38.85 crore from 4 financial institution accounts of SAOCL and deposited the quantity in his two accounts.

SAOCL has a niche of Rs 68.5 crore in its books as a result of lacking 134,325 drums of bitumen imported between the monetary years 2013-14 and 2018-19.

The guards of the godown at Port Colony, Chattogram, the place the bitumen drums have been saved, allowed the discharge of products towards demand orders from AOCL to the CAG auditors. However the proprietor of the godown denied having any such paperwork.

The corporate didn’t have any inventory stories. The auditors held the BPC chargeable for such free inside controls and known as for an inquiry into the matter to e book these chargeable for the monetary losses.

In respect of import of Lube Base Oil and Bitumen from the monetary yr 2013-14 to 2019-20, Rs 64.8 crore is lacking from the account of SAOCL.

The Firm Authority had issued non-account payee checks within the identify of Gulf Petroleum Pte., Gulf Petroleum Plc, United Oil Firm and United Petrochemicals as an expense referring to the letter of credit score.

The test was cashed and no vouchers or challans have been obtained to help the expenditure. The report stated signatures on the again of some checks present that SAOCL officers had encashed the checks, whereas holding the corporate’s former common managers Ahmed and Mohammad Shahid chargeable for the irregularities.

Each additionally purchased life insurance coverage premium for Rs 38.5 crore. The cash was withdrawn from the financial institution accounts of SAOCL.

Regardless of repeated requests, Ahmed couldn’t be contacted for remark whereas Shahid died of COVID-19 in December 2020.

When contacted, State Energy, Power and Mineral Sources Minister Nasrul Hamid stated: “BPC is accountable to look into the difficulty of SAOCL. If BPC finds any irregularities, they’ll take motion.”

ABM Azad, Chairman, BPC, sitting on the corporate’s board, stated that the administration of SAOCL is being modified and all of the actions of the group are being monitored often to carry transparency in its monetary transactions.

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