ACC approves charges against 3 former, 1 current Biman high-ups

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Wednesday approved a charge sheet against four former and current officials of Biman Bangladesh Airlines in a case filed over corruption in a pilot recruitment process.

The others accused are former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director AM Mosaddique Ahmed, former flight operations director Farhat Hasan Jamil, former director (administration) Partha Kumar Pandit and Manager (recruitment) Fakhrul Hossain Chowdhury.

The anti-graft body approved the charge sheet against the four people under section 5 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and section 109 of penal code, said ACC Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain.

While talking to journalists at the commission’s Segunbagicha headquarters, the ACC secretary also said the accused have committed a punishable offense by illegally employing cadet pilots of aircraft through abuse of power and criminal misconduct.

On November 25, 2019, ACC assistant director M Saiful Islam filed the case with its integrated district office in Dhaka over their involvement in irregularities in recruitment of pilots.

According to the case, the accused relaxed recruitment requirements like education qualifications, pass marks and age limit to appoint 30 candidates --including a nephew of Mosaddique – as cadet pilots.