Fraud Detected STOP Staff Sacked STOP Millions Lost STOP

The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating reports of a significant fraud at the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company (BTC) - over the provision of old-fashioned telegraph services.

While the telegraph is not entirely extinct, the usage of the old format has declined to near obscurity outside niche applications. Despite this decline, the ACC says that the telecoms operator has apparently been employing hundreds of staff to operate telegraph offices around the country.

They have advised the government to close the 460 telegraph offices down pending the investigation.

It is being claimed that the staff, who did virtually no work cost the state-owned firm around US$4 million since 2001. The ACC says that it is preparing charges against 38 individuals, who are accused of pocketing over US$5 million between them.

The Anti-Corruption Commission was set up by the former military controlled government, but has been supported by the current government which was re-elected in democratic elections last December.

Posted to the site on 28th January 2009