Dhaka, Dec 04 (V7N) — The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case against six former senior officials of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), including a former ACC commissioner, for allegedly causing a revenue loss of Tk 9,010.74 crore to the state by unlawfully altering the international incoming call termination rate in favor of International Gateway (IGW) operators.

The case was lodged on Tuesday by ACC Director Jalal Uddin Ahmed at the ACC’s Dhaka-1 office. ACC spokesperson Md. Akhtarul Islam confirmed the filing.

The accused are former BTRC chairman and former ACC commissioner Md. Zahurul Haque, former BTRC chairmen Sunil Kanti Bose and Dr. Shahjahan Mahmood, former BTRC vice chairman Brigadier General (Retd.) Md. Ahsan Habib Khan, and former commissioners Md. Rezaul Kader and Md. Aminul Hasan.

According to the case statement, the termination rate for international incoming calls—approved initially on a temporary one-year experimental basis at Tk 0.30 per minute—was illegally increased to Tk 1.50 per minute. At the same time, the government and BTRC’s revenue share was reduced from 51.75 percent to 40 percent, while IGW operators’ share was increased from 13.25 percent to 20 percent.

Although the revised rates were approved for only one year, they were unlawfully maintained for 28 months—from October 2015 to January 2018—resulting in substantial financial losses to the government.

The ACC alleges that manipulation in the revenue-sharing formula alone caused a loss of Tk 383.73 crore. Lowering the call rate further cost the government Tk 2,941.99 crore. Additionally, failure to ensure the required volume of incoming international calls—thereby depriving the country of valuable foreign currency earnings—resulted in an estimated loss of Tk 5,685.01 crore.

In total, the state was deprived of Tk 9,010.74 crore through these illegal decisions, according to ACC findings.

The case was filed under Penal Code sections 409 and 418, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.

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