The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today (8 September) raided the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority’s (BRTA) Dhaka Metro-2 Circle office in Ekuria, South Keraniganj, over allegations that a broker syndicate was controlling services and collecting up to Tk1.5 crore in bribes every month.
An ACC enforcement team from the commission’s headquarters, led by Assistant Director Mahmudul Hasan Bhuiyan, conducted the operation, said Tanzir Ahmed, assistant director of the ACC’s public relations department.
According to ACC sources, the commission received allegations that a syndicate was controlling various services at the office and charging service seekers an additional Tk1,000 to Tk10,000 for route permits, vehicle registration, fitness certificates, ownership transfers and driving licences.
The syndicate allegedly collects between Tk1 crore and Tk1.5 crore in illegal payments each month, with some BRTA officials and employees allegedly involved in the irregularities, the sources said.
The ACC also received allegations that monthly extortion money was collected from unauthorised shops that had sprung up in front of the BRTA office, as well as from a truck stand operating there.
There were further allegations that a former BRTA employee had occupied a room at the office and used it to control the broker syndicate, according to the ACC.
The former employee allegedly accumulated substantial illicit wealth through the syndicate, the sources said.
The ACC said its enforcement team collected information related to the allegations during today’s operation.
About The Author
