PWD engineer suspended over alleged Tk 63.2m ‘embezzlement’

The Ministry of Housing and Public Works has suspended Lalmonirhat Executive Engineer Md Saifuzzaman over allegations of “abuse of power and embezzlement” of more than Tk 63.2 million.

The ministry issued the suspension order on Tuesday.

Speaking on Wednesday, ministry spokesperson Md Alamgir Hossain said Saifuzzaman committed the alleged irregularities while posted at Public Works Department (PWD) Division-4 in Dhaka.

During that period, he was involved in the Supreme Court record building construction project, where he allegedly floated tenders through e-GP by unlawfully splitting a single package into eight, without approval of the Development Project Proposal or Revised Development Project Proposal.

As a result, bills amounting to Tk 63.2 million were paid to eight contracting firms during the 2023-24 fiscal year, despite no physical existence of the work, the official said.

“Work corresponding to the bills paid to the contractors could not be found,” Alamgir said.

Following the suspension, Saifuzzaman will receive subsistence allowance in line with service rules, he added.

Before his posting in Lalmonirhat, Saifuzzaman served as executive engineer in Faridpur.