The Anti-Corruption Commission on Monday decided to launch an inquiry into a syndicate led by Salman F Rahman, vice-chairman of Beximco Pharmaceuticals, over allegations of embezzling Tk聽22,000 crore from the procurement process of COVID vaccines.
The ACC made the decision for the inquiry based on a complaint at a meeting of the commission held at its headquarters in the capital鈥檚 Segun Bagicha, said ACC director general (prevention) Akhtar Hossain.
The ACC took the move following written allegations submitted by Moidul Islam, an official of the Bangladesh Medical Research Council, to the commission after the fall of the Awami League government amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024.
According to the allegations, amid the COVID pandemic that wreaked havoc the globe in 2020-21, the government of Bangladesh entered into a deal to purchase three crore doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India in December, 2020.
Beximco Pharma was enlisted as the intermediary for the vaccine procurement process.
But recent investigations have raised serious question about the transparency of the vaccine procurement process.
The allegations suggested that the process lacked proper adherence to government procurement guidelines.
Despite the availability of alternative suppliers, the government only pursued a single source for the vaccine purchase, thus bypassing any opportunity for competitive bidding or negotiation, said the allegations.
Apart from this, there were accusations that key political figures were involved in the deal.
A lawmaker and an adviser to the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina were part of the tripartite agreement, a clear violation of legal norms.
It is also alleged that the involvement of Beximco Pharma in the procurement process was not justified by any logical or competitive reasoning.
The presence of Beximco, according to the allegations, resulted in Bangladesh having to pay a higher price for the vaccines compared to other countries.
The allegations said that if the government had procured vaccines directly from Serum Institute, Bangladesh could have purchased 68 lakh more doses for the same amount of money, benefiting the public and reducing the overall cost.
Beximco Pharmaceuticals reportedly earned a profit of Tk 77 per vaccine dose after deducting other costs in the import process.
There are allegations that a syndicate, allegedly led by Salman F Rahman and former health minister Zahid Maleque played a significant role in the scam.
The then health secretary Lokman Hossain, former chairman of the Bangladesh Medical Research Council Modasser Ali, and former principal secretary to the prime minister Ahmad Kaykous allegedly were also involved with the syndicate.
The syndicate embezzled at least Tk 22,000 crore through the procurement and distribution of vaccines.
Zahid Maleque had stated that Tk聽40,000 crore was spent on the vaccine procurement and distribution.
However, the Transparency International Bangladesh suggested that the actual expenditure should not have exceeded Tk聽18,000 crore.
The syndicate is also accused of deliberately blocking the approval of the domestically developed 鈥楤ongvax鈥� vaccine by Globe Biotech.
Despite the availability of an alternative, local vaccine, the approval was stalled, reportedly due to the influence of the syndicate.
It is alleged that Salman F Rahman personally received a separate commission from Serum Institute.
Salman, according to the allegations, used his influence to benefit his own company, Beximco, and caused the state to waste resources.
Awami League leader Salman F Rahman, also former private industry affairs adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, owns the Beximco Group.
He was arrested after the AL government was toppled in a student-led mass uprising in August past year.
Since then, he has been in jail in connection with a number of cases.