The Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday initiated an inquiry into allegations of amassing illegal wealth against six officials of the National Board of Revenue, including Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar, president of NBR Reform Unity Parishad, the banner under which officials are continuing their movement.
The ACC decision comes hours after the interim government warned the protesting officials of the NBR about taking stern action unless they return to work immediately.
The move also comes on the second day of the shutdown enforced by the NBR Reform Unity Council demanding the removal of the NBR chairman and an end to what they call 鈥榲engeful transfers鈥�.
When asked, the ACC director general (prevention) Akhtar Hossain, however, said that they took the decision for inquiry based on graft allegations and there was no connection with the movement at the NBR.
The six NBR officials are AKM Badiul Alam, member (Income Tax Policy), Mirza Ashiq Rana, additional tax commissioner, Tax Zone-8, Dhaka; Mohammad Morshed Uddin Khan, joint tax commissioner, BCS Tax Academy; Monalisa Shahrin Sushmita, deputy tax commissioner, Tax Zone-16, Dhaka; Hasan Tarek Rikabdar, additional commissioner, Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate, VAT, Dhaka; and Sadhan Kumar Kundu, additional commissioner, Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, Dhaka (South).
There are allegations of facilitating large-scale tax evasion by accepting hefty bribes from taxpayers against several unscrupulous members and officials of the NBR.
These officials had allegedly reduced tax liabilities in exchange for personal gains, causing the government to lose significant revenue annually.
Over the past two to three decades, several officials had allegedly amassed illegal wealth beyond their known sources of income by enabling individuals and businesses to evade customs duties, VAT, and taxes during their tenures at various stations.
These activities reportedly involved corruption, nepotism, and irregularities, inflicting heavy losses on the state.