Prime Minister Receives Audit Report On The Infamous 'Pillow Scandal'
Collected Photo
The audit report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman includes the findings on the notorious "Pillow Scandal" at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, which occurred during the previous fascist regime of Awami League.
The report highlights that the price of each pillow was recorded at Tk5,957.
The Prime Minister's Press Secretary, Saleh Shibli, stated, "The Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh, Md. Nurul Islam, presented audit reports of various ministries and agencies to the Prime Minister on Tuesday, which included the investigation report on the pillow scandal."
Shibli added, "Upon hearing the unbelievable prices mentioned in the report, the Prime Minister remarked to the CAG in a lighthearted yet critical tone that such an expensive pillow should be preserved in a museum."
The "Pillow Scandal" came to light in 2019, involving massive irregularities in the procurement of furniture and electronic items for the 'Green City' residential project of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Along with the Tk5,957 price tag per pillow, millions of taka were embezzled through inflated lifting costs and other fraudulent expenses.
Corruption was identified at every stage of the Tk169 crore procurement process for the residential buildings. While each pillow cost Tk 5,957, the wage for carrying a single pillow to a flat was shown as Tk760. Comforters with covers were priced at Tk16,800, despite the market price ranging from Tk4,500 to a maximum of Tk13,500. Similarly, foreign bedsheets were purchased for Tk5,936 while the market price was between Tk3,000 to Tk3,500.
These items were purchased for five 20-story buildings. Not only were comforters bought at exorbitant prices, but separate trucks were reportedly used to transport them from shops to the project site. A truck rent of Tk 30,000 was shown for transporting just 30 comforters. Furthermore, the cost of lifting each comforter to the specific bed was recorded at Tk 2,147 with an additional supervision fee of Tk143 per item to ensure they were placed correctly. Including a 10% profit for the contractor and supplementary duties, the total cost for each comforter was estimated at Tk22,587. Similar irregularities occurred with bedsheets, where Tk30,000 was spent on a truck for 30 sheets, and the labor cost for carrying each sheet to the bed was shown as Tk931.
The Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani, Finance Secretary Khairuzzaman Mozumder, Press Secretary Saleh Shibli, and other senior officials were present during the submission of the audit report.
