Saturday, October 5, 2024

Commerce probe goes limping

Destiny ‘anomalies’
Commerce probe goes limping 
Six months into its formation, a commerce ministry probe body has yet to submit its report on alleged irregularities of multilevel marketing company Destiny-2000.
The commerce secretary now pins the blame on the probe body chief Ahmedur Rahim, registrar of joint stock companies and firms (RJSCF), who has recently been transferred to another ministry.
Two agencies — Bangladesh Bank and the Anti-Corruption Commission — have already submitted their reports on Destiny.
The ACC has also filed two cases against Destiny’s top brass for money laundering. The Department of Cooperatives will submit its report on Destiny’s cooperative wing to the ministry concerned this week.
“The committee [commerce ministry’s] cannot avoid the responsibility. We are looking into the issue,” Commerce Secretary Ghulam Hussain told journalists at his office yesterday.
“The RJSCF did not want to do the work beyond its duty,” he said. But the secretary did not comment about the failure of other members of the probe body.
The RJSCF gave registration to Destiny 2000, an MLM wing and the very first concern of Destiny Group, in 2000. Its responsibility is to see whether a registered company is doing anything against memorandum of articles submitted during the registration.
The commerce ministry on February 13 formed the six-member probe body following a central bank report. Other members of the committee were from the finance, commerce and home ministries and from the Bangladesh Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The committee submitted its report first in April, but that was incomplete and termed by the commerce secretary “ridiculous”.
The ministry sent back the report but the committee failed again. It even gave the probe body a third chance; the report was unacceptable this time too.
As per the terms of references (TOR), the probe committee was supposed to examine whether the company and its subsidiaries function as per the memorandum of articles.
Also, the committee was meant to unearth the irregularities, including illegal financial transaction of Destiny-2000 and its sister concerns.
“The first report submitted by the committee to us was ridiculous. Contents of the report were the minutes of a meeting in the ministry,” Hussain said. The second and the third reports were also incomplete and did not cover the TOR.
In the meantime, the probe committee chief Ahmedur Rahim has been transferred from the RJSCF and the new registrar would take over as the chair of the probe body, said the commerce secretary.
“The new committee has been given two months to submit its report,” he said. The secretary did not say why his ministry-formed body failed to prepare a report even in six months.
Ahmedur Rahim could not be reached for comments.
Meanwhile, employees of Destiny Group yesterday said they have not fallen from the sky and will prove their power and presence.
They claimed the media reports against their company are fabricated and vested interests are behind the “propaganda”.
“We have 45 lakh distributors across the country. We’ll wait till Eid-ul-Fitr to see whether our bank accounts are opened or not,” Saifur Rahman Tipu, Destiny general manager (marketing, sales and operation), told a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club.
Tipu claimed 3,000 employees of Destiny Group are not getting their salaries for the past three months as its bank accounts have been frozen by the central bank and the revenue board. But he could not say how many of Destiny accounts have been seized.
The press conference was overcrowded by a large number of Destiny employees and distributors.

Courtesy of The Daily Star

Related News

Ex-president Badruddoza Chowdhury dies at 93

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Former president Professor AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury, popularly known as B Chowdhury, passed away in the early hours of Saturday (5 October). He was 93. The former president breathed his last at the Medical College for Women in Uttara at 3:10am, Jahangir Alam, press secretary of the former president, said in a ... Read more

Two students drown in Mirsarai waterfall

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The bodies of two young tourists were recovered from the deep well of Rupashi Waterfall in Chattogram’s Mirsarai yesterday (4 October), hours after they were reported missing. The deceased were identified as Musfiqur Rahman, 21, and Mahbub Rahman Mustakim, 21, both residents of Narayanganj. “A search and rescue team from the ... Read more

Railway to operate special passenger trains on Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route during Durga Puja holidays

News Desk : dhakamirror.com In anticipation of increased demand during the Durga Puja and weekly holidays, the Bangladesh Railway has decided to operate seven additional special passenger trains on the Dhaka-Cox’s Bazar route. These trains will run from 10 October to 13 October, supplementing the two regular trains already operating on the route. The director ... Read more

Bangladeshi expat wins Tk 65 cr in lottery in UAE Big Ticket draw

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladeshi expat Abul Monsur, hailing from Chattogram, has won Dh20 million, or over Tk65 crore, grand prize with the latest Big Ticket draw in the United Arab Emirates. Abul Monsur Abdul Sabur, a 50-year-old based in Abu Dhabi, has been buying the raffle draws’ entries since 2007. In its latest edition, ... Read more

Motorcycle sales tumble to seven-year low

Mahfuz Ullah Babu Rising costs, consumers’ weakening purchasing capacity, and adverse policy treatments blamed The hope of manufacturers for a scaled-up motorcycle market – to reach a million units a year by 2027 – now seems to be fading away. The economic slowdown, coupled with a sharp rise in costs and selling prices, has instead ... Read more

Metro rail to begin operations on Fridays too

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited (DMTCL) is set to launch metro rail services on Fridays soon. Currently, the services are closed on Fridays. MAN Siddique, managing director of Dhaka Mass Transit Company Limited, told media on Monday that the company started preparatory work on the day to start services on ... Read more

Academic activities in all public universities in Bangladesh remain stalled

Shahin Akhter Amid the academic activities coming to a near halt in most public universities triggered by a wave of resignation from top officials, the Secondary and Higher Education Division on Thursday in an order asked the universities tackling the situation to allow a senior teacher to carry out the administrative and finance related tasks ... Read more

Sundarbans to reopen for fishers, tourists from Sept 1

News Desk : dhakamirror.com After nearly three months of closure, the Forest Department will reopen the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and a UNESCO world heritage site from September 1 (Sunday). From that day, fishermen and tourists will be able to enter the world’s largest mangrove forest after obtaining a permit from the Department ... Read more

Govt decreases fuel prices

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government reduced octane and petrol prices by Tk6 per litre, according to a press release by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources issued today (31 August). Meanwhile, the price of diesel has been reduced by Tk1.25 per litre. Starting tomorrow (1 September), the new price for octane will ... Read more

All educational institutions to reopen on 18 August

News Desk : dhakamirror.com All educational institutions under the education ministry have been instructed to resume academic activities from Sunday, August 18, 2024. The announcement was made through an office order issued by the ministry on Thursday. The order said that following the approval of the chief adviser the educational institutions were instructed to take ... Read more

Interim govt led by Dr Yunus sworn in

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel Peace Prize winner and globally acclaimed economist Professor Muhammad Yunus was sworn-in as the chief adviser to the interim government of Bangladesh Thursday evening (8 August). President Mohammed Shahabuddin administered the oath of office to the 17-member interim government. Leaders of various political parties including BNP, Jamaat-e-Islami, Jatiyo Party, Krishak ... Read more

Dr Yunus to lead the interim government

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus will be the chief adviser of the interim government, said a press release of Bangabhaban yesterday. The decision came after a meeting on the formation of the interim government between key organisers of the anti-discriminatory movement and President Mohammed Shahabuddin. The heads of the three armed ... Read more

Mainul Islam made new IGP

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The government on Tuesday appointed Traffic and Driving School commandant Md Moinul Islam as the new inspector general of police. Public Security Division of the home ministry issued a gazette notification in this regard on Tuesday. The decision came a day after the fall of Sheikh Hasina government amid mass uprising ... Read more

Curfew to end on Tuesday morning; all offices, educational institutions set to open

News Desk : dhakamirror.com An ongoing curfew will be in effect from Monday midnight until 6am on Tuesday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate. Starting Tuesday morning, all government, semi-government, autonomous, semi-autonomous, private institutions, factories, schools, colleges, madrasas, universities and all educational institutions in Bangladesh will remain open, a press release of the ISPR ... Read more

Internet likely to face disruption for 12 hours today

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Internet connectivity in Bangladesh will face partial disruption for 12 hours from this morning because of maintenance of 1st submarine cable, said Bangladesh Submarine Cables PLC (BSCPLC) in a press release. The statement said from 6:01 am to 6:00 pm, the consortium has scheduled maintenance for a land cable fault near ... Read more

Chess Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passes away

News Desk : dhakamirror.com Bangladesh Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passed away at a hospital in the city after suffering a heart attack during the 12th round game of the ongoing National Chess Championship at the Chess Federation on Friday. Zia bhai is no more. He breathed his last at around 6:00pm at Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital,’ confirmed ... Read more

Ending GPA-5 era, SSC results to be published with English letter grades

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exams will no longer be evaluated under the Grade Point Average 1-5 scale but rather be graded with English letters. A meeting of the National Curriculum Coordination Committee with the Education Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury approved the new evaluation framework on Monday (1 July). “There are ... Read more

Over 1.04 crore animals sacrificed on Eid-ul-Adha this year

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A total of 1,04,08,918 animals were sacrificed across the country on the occasion of the holy Eid-ul-Azha this year. As many as 3, 67, 106 more animals were slaughtered this year compared to previous year, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock said in a press release on Tuesday. This year the ... Read more

9am-5pm office time to resume from Wednesday

News Desk : dhakamirror.com The public offices across Bangladesh are set to go back to old office timing from 9:00am to 5:00pm with Fridays and Saturdays being the weekly holidays as usual from Wednesday. The cabinet in its weekly meeting on June 3 decided restoring the old office timing between 9:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays ... Read more

5 magnitude earthquake jolts parts of Bangladesh

News Desk : dhakamirror.com A magnitude 5 earthquake jolted a large part of the country on Sunday (2 June) afternoon., including Dhaka. The quake struck at 2:44pm from a depth of about 110km, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, and was centred in the Mawlaik area of Myanmar, 441 km southeast of Dhaka. The quake ... Read more