TDS Desk:

The travel agency owned by Sakhawat Hossain has an office in a small room of a building in the capital’s Fakirapool with only a table and three chairs. The monthly rent for this office is Tk 6,000. Sakhawat also lives in a mess in Fakirapool.

However, as per the documents of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), he owns a share of an international gateway (IGW) company, K Telecom, and is the managing director (MD) of the company.

International calls come through these IGW agencies. K Telecom owes more than Tk 1.26 billion to the BTRC. The BTRC has filed cases against the owners over the debts.

Now the question arises as to how could Sakhawat be the owner of such a big company. This correspondent went to Shakhawat Hossain’s office in Fakirapool on 17 December and asked him the question.

He said, “I myself didn’t know that. BTRC officials went to my house on 18 October with police from the Rangunia police station in Chattogram. It was at the time that I came to learn about the company and my ownership.”

Narayanganj Awami League leader and former lawmaker Shamim Osman was the actual owner of K Telecom. K Telecom in 2012 took a license for 15 years in the name of Shamim Osman’s wife Salma Osman and the couple’s son Imtinan Osman.

Shamim Osman’s close associates Joynal Abedin Molla and Jahangir Hossain Molla and his brother-in-law Tanvir Ahmed also have shares in the company.

As per the documents, the Osman family handed over the company to Sakhawat Hossain, school teacher Debabrata Chowdhury and a Bogura-based private company office assistant named Rakibul Islam. None of them knew about it, they told Prothom Alo. They said they were shown as the owners of the company through forgery.

Meanwhile BTRC officials and other relevant sources said the Osman family switched the ownership of the company hastily to evade the liability of the company debt to the government through forgery. Fake photos were used in the process. The government agency concerned helped the Osman family in this.

Shamim Osman and his family went into hiding following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August. So it was not possible to get his comment over the allegations.

HUGE DEBT TO BTRC

The Awami League government issued a number of licenses in the telecommunication sector after assuming power in 2009. Several Awami League leaders, including Jahangir Kabir Nanak, Shamsul Haque Tuku and Shamim Osman, took license for IGW business, which was much profitable at the time.

There is a certain license fee for this business. Besides, a portion of the profit from the income through international calls has to be paid to the BTRC as per the rule.

However, instead of paying the BTRC from their income, the persons who got licenses on political considerations closed their companies. Around six IGW companies owe more than Tk 9.21 billion to the BTRC.

According to the BTRC documents, the BTRC filed a case over the debts of the K Telecom on 22 June 2014. The police went to the house of the new owners of the company in 2023 and 2024.

He said he worked at a readymade garment factory in Savar from 2006 to 2017. Now he works as an office assistant in Bogura with a negligible salary.

The BTRC officials went to his house in 2024. Referring to their visit, Rakibul said, “The BTRC officials came and saw my financial condition. I guess my national ID card was used for this forgery. This is not all. A MFS (mobile financial service) account was also opened using my ID card.”

The BTRC officials traced Government MC College Academy assistant teacher of English department Debabrata Chowdhury in 2023 and police arrested him.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Debabrata Chowdhury said the students blocked the road upon hearing the news of his arrest. He was released on bond the next day. He has been working at the MC Academy since 2003. He lives in a rented house with his wife in Sylhet.

HOW THE OWNERSHIP WAS CHANGED

The ownership of a company was changed through the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies And Firms (RJSC). And, to change the ownership of a BTRC-licensed company, one must appeal to the BTRC to get the approval from the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication.

Asked whether the application to change the ownership of the K Telecom was verified or not, the BTRC authorities said in writing that the ownership of the company was changed following a proper method with the consent from the government.

However, a BTRC source said the application submitted to the BTRC to change the ownership of the company was approved hastily without verifying the documents. The BTRC officials would have found out the fake photos used in these documents if the documents were verified. As per the law, it is BTRC’s duty to check whether there is financial irregularity.

On the other hand, the relevant RJSC officials said at the time the rule was that the transferee of the ownership should submit the approval letter of the government along with the signatures of all the necessary documents. That happened in this case too.

senior Supreme Court lawyer and Company Act expert Ahsanul Karim said, “It was the duty of the BTRC to verify the documents. It seems the approval was given deliberately to change the ownership of the company in the name of people who do not have any idea about the business. This is an example of people falling victim to malicious interests of influential political persons.”

The case filed by the BTRC in 2014 did not mention the change of ownership. Instead of the actual owners, they changed the victims.

Relevant persons say everyone knows that Shamim Osman’s family owns the K Telecom. Despite that, police were sent to their houses to harass them.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman said, “The corruption is multidimensional here. The Osman family deprived the state using his power. He passed his debt liability on other people unlawfully. Innocent people were accused due to forgery. Everyone involved should be held accountable.”