The commission investigates alleged passport service harassment, irregularities in Tk21 crore medical equipment purchases and nearly Tk1 crore in loan fraud.
ACC officials conduct raids at three government institutions in Dhaka and elsewhere on 9 November 2026. Photo: Courtesy
“>
ACC officials conduct raids at three government institutions in Dhaka and elsewhere on 9 November 2026. Photo: Courtesy
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has conducted raids at three government institutions over allegations of harassment in passport services, irregularities in the purchase of medical equipment worth nearly Tk21 crore and loan fraud involving around Tk1 crore.
The raids were carried out today (9 November) at the Pirojpur Regional Passport Office, Kurigram 250-bed General Hospital and a Sonali Bank PLC of Nilphamari’s Kishoreganj upazila, under the initiative of the ACC’s Enforcement Unit.
According to information released by the commission, officials and employees of the Pirojpur passport office are accused of colluding with brokers to harass service seekers, charge fees above government rates, accept applications irregularly, and behave improperly with applicants.
During the operation, an ACC enforcement team conducted undercover inspections at different service points and spoke to service seekers to gather information about alleged harassment, irregularities and the activities of brokers. The team also collected a list of passport applications that had remained pending for an extended period.
Meanwhile, the ACC’s Integrated District Office in Kurigram conducted an operation at Kurigram 250-bed General Hospital over allegations of harassment in providing medical services, irregularities in purchasing medical equipment worth nearly Tk21 crore and equipment remaining unused due to complications over unpaid bills.
ACC officials collected a list of medical equipment purchased in the 2018-19 fiscal year and inspected the items. Several important pieces of equipment were found unused in locked rooms.
The hospital’s resident medical officer told the ACC team that the equipment could not be used because the necessary setups had not been put in place.
The team also found shortcomings in the hospital’s cleanliness and advised the authorities to take necessary measures. It collected procurement-related documents to examine whether there had been irregularities in purchasing the equipment.
In Nilphamari, the ACC’s Integrated District Office in Rangpur raided the Sonali Bank branch in Kishoreganj over allegations that around Tk1 crore had been embezzled through loan fraud.
According to the allegations, bank officials and employees collected signed cheques, national identity cards and other documents from customers by promising them loans, then used those papers to obtain additional loans in their names and embezzle the money.
During the operation, ACC officials collected documents related to the loans in question and questioned the bank’s current branch manager and several customers.
The commission said its enforcement teams would review the documents and information collected during all three operations and submit detailed reports to the commission.
