Executive Engineer Suspended Over 6 Crore Fraud

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works has temporarily suspended Md. Saifuzzaman, Executive Engineer (Civil) of the Public Works Department (PWD), following allegations of embezzlement, abuse of authority, and corruption involving government funds amounting to BDT 6.31 crore. The official notification was signed by the Secretary of the Ministry, Md. Nazrul Islam, on Tuesday, 3 February.

According to the notification, Saifuzzaman is currently serving as Executive Engineer (Civil) at the Lalmonirhat PWD Division. Previously, he held the same position at the Dhaka PWD Division-4.

Speaking on Wednesday evening, the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer, Md. Alamgir Hossain, detailed the circumstances of the alleged financial irregularities. “While stationed at Dhaka PWD Division-4, Saifuzzaman allegedly divided a single project under the Supreme Court’s record building construction scheme into eight separate packages and invited tenders via the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) method without proper approvals of the Development Project Proposal (DPP), Revised DPP, or HOP,” he said. “This resulted in government expenditure of BDT 6,31,97,000.”

Further investigation revealed that although bills were submitted by eight contracting firms for these packages during the 2023-24 fiscal year, there is no evidence that any actual work was carried out. “In effect, a total of BDT 631.97 crore has been shown as expended under these eight contracts without any corresponding completion of work,” Hossain added.

As a consequence of his temporary suspension, Saifuzzaman will continue to receive his subsistence allowance in accordance with government regulations. The Ministry has emphasised that a full investigation is underway and that further administrative and legal measures will be taken based on its findings.

The following table summarises the key aspects of the alleged irregularities:

Experts have warned that such irregularities not only cause substantial financial loss but also undermine public trust in government institutions. The Ministry has reiterated its commitment to transparency and accountability, pledging stricter oversight for ongoing and future projects to prevent recurrence of similar cases.