Google Alert – BD Army
Ousted dictator Sheikh Hasina not only ruled the country in an authoritarian way for over 15 years, but also set up a network of gangsters to support her regime. Her so-called “constitutional government” served as the face of her administration, while the gangsters provided underlying strength.
Hasina’s security adviser Tarique Siddique supervised the network of gangsters on her behalf. In the process, he also almost single-handedly controlled military purchases, and pocketed nearly Tk60,000 crore in back door payments. He ordered to inflate cost of foreign military hardware, paid for by taxpayers. The 15%-20% additional charges reached Tarique’s pockets way before the purchase order was placed before foreigners.
The recent Uttara jet crash tragedy is only the latest fallout from Tarique’s mischievous purchases. The fighter aircraft involved had already contributed to the deaths of numerous Bangladesh pilots. But the killing of dozens of schoolchildren in the Uttara crash first drew public attention to the plane’s airworthiness, which was assuredly outdated compared to the fleets of other countries.
Despite being aware of the serious technological backwardness, Tarique pushed through the order to earn total Tk1,000 crore from all the supplies. Immediately upon receiving the first supplies, the Bangladesh Air Force raised complaints. But, Tarique, being the overlord, cared little. He even ordered the removal of the Air Force inspection team.
In 1996-2000, during Sheikh Hasina’s first stint as prime minister, Tarique left his first marks in military corruption. After the end of the government tenure, Tarique was sued for pocketing nearly a thousand crore taka through illegal purchases of Russian MiG-29 aircraft and the BNS Bangabandhu frigate. However, during Hasina’s second term, he was acquitted.
Tarique’s far-reaching control over the military purchase process was an open secret in military circles. Tarique favoured only those importers and foreign companies who were willing to help satisfy his greed. When Hasina was not in power, Bangladesh military got high-quality weapons and equipment from Europe and the US. However, the Westerners were not willing to inflate prices and secure extra commissions for Tarique. Therefore, the Hasina aide resorted to Chinese exporters, who were more than willing to help him embezzle Bangladeshi taxpayers’ funds.
Military purchases were easy targets for Tarique as across the world these have been considered matters of national security and thus kept hidden from public scrutiny.
Tarique benefitted from military infrastructural development projects as well. He cherry picked tender bidders to suit his corruption desires. The winners were known to all even before auction. Over the 15 years of Awami League rule, the government took initiatives to “modernize” the military and “expand” military infrastructure. By leading the process, Tarique pocketed more than half a billion US dollars, and siphoned most of the money abroad.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI