The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated legal proceedings against seven individuals, including Mohammad Farid Khan, the Chairman of Summit Communications Limited, for allegedly evading government revenue amounting to Tk 10 crore 24 lakh 52 thousand 652.

On Tuesday (August 26), ACC Assistant Director Md. Nasrullah Hossain lodged the case as the plaintiff at the agency’s Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1. The case was confirmed by ACC Director General Md. Akhter Hossain.

In addition to Mohammad Farid Khan, the other individuals implicated in the case include Lex Council proprietor and BTRC panel lawyer Khandaker Reza-e-Rakib, former BTRC chairman Engineer Md. Mohiuddin Ahmed, former Commissioner (Law) Md. Aminul Haque Babu, former Commissioner (Spectrum) Sheikh Riaz Ahmed, former Commissioner (Finance, Accounts and Revenue) Dr. Mushfiq Mannan Chowdhury, and former Commissioner (Systems and Services) Md. Delwar Hossain.

The ACC has alleged that Summit Communications, with assistance from BTRC officials and a team of lawyers from the Lex Council, unlawfully issued 142 million 88 thousand 136 new ordinary shares. Of these, 944 million 88 thousand 911 shares were allocated to Global Energy, a company based in the United Arab Emirates and owned by Muhammad Aziz Khan and his family.

Furthermore, 44 million 95 thousand 119 shares were distributed to Sekuwa Infra Tech Limited, a company located in Mauritius. The remaining 71 million 4 thousand 406 shares were allocated to the previous shareholder, Md. Arif Al Islam.

This share issuance resulted in a nearly fourfold increase in the company’s capital, raising the total number of shares from 5.07 million to 19.28 million. Consequently, Mohammad Farid Khan’s ownership stake diminished from 95 percent to 25 percent, while the combined ownership of the two foreign companies reached 70 percent.

As per Section 24 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act, 2001, a revenue of 5.5 percent of the value of sold shares must be paid in the event of a transfer of shares or a change in ownership. While this law was enforced to collect government revenue during the transfer of shares of the same company in 2022, lawyer Khandaker Reza-e-Rakib opined that the 5.5 percent payment was not applicable to Summit Communications, suggesting that illegal benefits were intentionally taken from the company.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) states that, relying on the lawyer’s opinion, the then chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and the relevant commissioners collectively approved the shares while receiving illegal benefits, leading to a loss of approximately 100 million 24 lakh taka in government revenue.