Interim Government Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam Keeps His ‘Promise’

-Kabir Yahmed

A day after the dissolution of the interim government, former Chief Advisor’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam got a job. The then Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder got a job. Information about their getting jobs has been reported in almost all media outlets.

Many people think that these two have never been unemployed even after their government duties. They didn’t have to look for jobs, rather, jobs found them. Job information and media headlines seemed to be saying the same thing.

Shafiqul Alam’s statement revealed the name of his new workplace. The English daily ‘Wada’ is their new address. This is the first time I have heard this name, many may have heard it for the first time. In fact, no media with this name exists in the market yet.

I learned from many people that this magazine is owned by the MGH Group. I went to the website of the multinational company and saw that its head office is in Singapore. The global CEO is Anis Ahmed Gorki, he is Bangladeshi. They have various businesses in Bangladesh.

There is nothing wrong with having a business. It is not new that a businessman owns the media in Bangladesh. However, the danger lies elsewhere. MGH Group CEO Anis Ahmed Gorky was acquitted of a corruption case during the tenure of the defunct interim government. The corruption case filed against him was withdrawn by Yunus’ interim government. The newspaper that Shafiqul-Azad is now mentioning as their workplace is owned by that business organization. I naturally ask this question, was there any dealings between the then government and the withdrawal of that case.

A report published in the English daily New Age on October 16, 2024, stated: “The government on Tuesday (October 15, 2024) withdrew a case filed against Anis Ahmed Gorky, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MGH Group. Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammad Ash-Shams Jaglul Hossain issued the order to withdraw the case.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed this case against Anis Ahmed on December 28, 2022, on charges of acquiring illegal wealth worth Tk 136 crore and money laundering.

The ACC said that during the investigation, the accused provided an acceptable explanation of his assets worth Tk 118.80 crore. The ACC also noted that there was no sufficient evidence against Anis Ahmed to proceed with the case.

The information about the case against Anis Ahmed Gorky is available in various media outlets. The report published online in Bangla Tribune on March 25, 2024, titled “ACC approves chargesheet against MGH Group CEO Anis Ahmed,” states: “The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved the filing of a chargesheet against MGH Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anis Ahmed Gorky on charges of acquiring illegal assets. The approval was given in a meeting of the commission on Monday (March 25) afternoon, ACC Secretary Khorsheda Yasmin said. The ACC Secretary said that on December 28, 2022, ACC Deputy Director Syed Nazrul Islam filed the case alleging undeclared assets of Tk 136.277 crore. After a long investigation, he submitted a report to the commission. After scrutiny, the commission approved the filing of the chargesheet.

The charge sheet states that Anis Ahmed Gorky, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MGH Group, has acquired and kept in his possession assets worth 136.277400 taka for personal financial gain through dishonest means. A case has been filed under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for transferring, transferring and converting these assets. During the investigation, a total of 118.806621 taka was found as acceptable sources of income from various companies under MGH Group, sea freight business and outsourcing software subscription fees. No legitimate source of the remaining 172.27779 taka was found. Anis Ahmed has been approved to file a charge sheet against him under the ACC Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for acquiring and keeping in his possession assets worth 136.27740 taka for personal financial gain through dishonest means.

The interim government of Muhammad Yunus (now defunct) withdrew the corruption case worth hundreds of millions of taka against Anis Ahmed Gorky. Whether the process of withdrawing this case was legal, whether the then Chief Advisor’s office was involved in withdrawing this case—these questions are now relevant, because with the dissolution of the government, the officials of the press wing of the Chief Advisor’s office are sitting down to establish a newspaper under the ownership of that business entity!

It is important to find out whether or not MGH Group owns Shafiqul-Azad’s ‘Daily Wada’ newspaper, whether there was any corruption in the withdrawal of Anis Ahmed Gorky’s corruption case, and if there was corruption, who in the now-defunct interim government was involved.