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The National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Monday scrapped two SROs related to tax waivers granted to the Shuchona Foundation, a non-profit and voluntary organisation run by Saima Wazed Putul, daughter of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
The foundation was founded by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's daughter Saima Wazed Putul.
The two SROs were issued on April 6, 2016, and June 19, 2013.
The move of the revenue-collecting authority came at a time when the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), after the change of the Awami League regime, initiated a legal enforcement operation following allegations of misappropriation of state funds through irregularities and corruption by the foundation’s president and several others.
On Wednesday they said that the Shuchona Foundation has no registered address and its illegal activities have been revealed.
To investigate the tax exemptions granted to Shuchona Foundation, the team obtained relevant Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs) from the National Board of Revenue (NBR).
Upon review, the ACC team found preliminary evidence that the foundation had been exempted from paying income tax on all its earnings, including interest from permanent and savings bank deposits, consultancy fees, and research fees since 2016.
The ACC revealed that Saima Wazed, the Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for South-East Asia, had inaccurately provided information regarding her eligibility when she was nominated for the position, as she was a Canadian citizen at the time.
The ACC also said that there are credible corruption allegations against her.
According to the ACC, Saima Wazed allegedly misused her influence to secure financial benefits for the Shuchona Foundation, receiving gifts and funds from various social and business institutions.
The ACC sources further claimed that Saima exerted undue influence over the NBR to secure tax exemptions for the foundation’s entitled funds.
Earlier, on November 24, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the financial intelligence wing of the Central Bank, had ordered the freezing of the bank accounts of Shuchona Foundation.
It received crores of taka in donations from the country's top business conglomerates.
Founded in 2014, Saima Wazed Putul, along with three other trustees — Muzharul Mannan, Md Shamshuzzman, and Zain Bari Rizvi — oversee the Shuchona Foundation, an organisation dedicated to supporting individuals with mental disabilities, neurological disorders, autism, and mental health challenges.
Putul currently serves as the regional director for Southeast Asia at the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August last year, several cases have been filed against her over various irregularities and corruption allegations.