Deploy army to stop looting billions of Taka

by Special Correspondent
February 5, 2012

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/2107/deploy-army-to-stop-looting-billions-of-taka

Following publication of the report in Blitz, telecommunication experts in Dhaka opined that the government needs to immediately deploy army to check the Call Details Recorded [CDR] located at Satellite Earth Station located at Mohakhali [known as Mohakhali Inter-Connection Exchange], where a group of well organized racket combining officers and technicians of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited [BTCL] in connivance with some unscrupulous operators of licensed VOIP exchanges are continuing to keep the Call Details Recorded switched off during peak hour [from 7 pm to 5 am] on a regular basis, thus deceiving the country from revenue of billions of Taka every month. According to information, on an average, there is 60 million minutes of call everyday from Bangladesh. Out of these calls, only 100~150 minutes are recorded on Call Details Recorded while the major portion is terminated by the corrupt officials and technicians of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited. The source further said, eighty percent of these overseas calls go through Mohakhali Inter-Connection Exchange, while only 20 percent goes through Chittagong Inter-Connection Exchange.

Telecommunication experts say if the government will take immediate steps in deploying army at the Inter-Connection Exchanges both in Dhaka and Chittagong, the daily revenue from VOIP calls will increase several folds immediately. They said, without the help of army, this situation can never be resolved. It said, few of the VOIP license holders are very influential with direct connections with the telecommunication minister as well as the Prime Minister's office and family. They said, few of them are minting money by misusing the name of the Prime Minister and some of the very important figures in the government, while of those unscrupulous VOIP operators even uses the name of his connection with a very sensitive intelligence agency.

According to information, involved officials of BTCL in helping the unscrupulous VOIP operators, by keeping the Call Details Recorder switched-off are divisional engineer [Mohakhali Inter-Connection Exchange], ADE [Mohakhali Inter-Connection Exchange] as well as some of the staffs of the Mohakhali and Chittagong Inter-Connection Exchange. It is also alleged that, some of the officials at director level are also involved with this racket. Weekly Blitz also has received a list of the VOIP companies, which are involved in illegal VOIP business through switching off the Call Details Recorder machines both at Mohakhali and Chittagong Inter-Connection Exchanges. There are also specific evidences against some of the VOIP operators, which have furnished false bank guarantee to Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited [BTCL], against their license. One such crime by a VOIP operator named Rajtech was unearthed when BTCL found the bank guarantee the company furnished was forged. It may be mentioned here that, Rajtech furnished a forged bank guarantee on Sonali Bank, Badda branch, for which a criminal case was already lodged with Badda Police Station by the authorities of Sonali Bank against the manager of the branch concerned as well as Hasibul Bashar, managing director of Rajtech Limited [Badda police station case number 41/2011]. But surprisingly enough, BTCL authorities did not take any legal action either against the owners of Rajtech Limited or any of the officials of BTCL for such huge crime.

Weekly Blitz is continuing to investigate these massive irregularities inside BTCL and more reports will appear soon.

Related Topics:  International News receive the latest by email: subscribe to weekly blitz's free mailing list