The vicious cycle of corruption
Former MP’s many tricks to evade customs duties
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
It is not about exploiting loopholes in the law. Looting is taking place through direct violations of the law. When everyone from elected representatives to government officials becomes part of the same web of corruption, the state’s accounts show only losses.
A major fraud has taken place involving a vehicle purchased under a duty-free facility. Through the abuse of power and in exchange for bribes, several crore taka in government revenue has disappeared.
The market price of a 2020 Toyota Land Cruiser VX R diesel vehicle is around Tk 5 crore. Previously, members of Parliament could purchase this vehicle for only Tk 1.5 crore under the duty-free quota. However, if they wanted to sell the vehicle or transfer its ownership after purchase, there was a provision to pay customs duties to the National Board of Revenue at the prescribed rate. But violating the law, former Jatiya Party MP Fakhrul Imam sold the vehicle purchased under the duty-free quota for Tk 2.10 crore.
As a result, the government lost around Tk 3.25 crore in revenue. Meanwhile, dishonest officials of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority completed the transfer of ownership of the vehicle through fraud and pocketed more than Tk 32 lakh.
That is not the end of it. Ignoring the rules and regulations, financial institution IPDC Finance provided a loan to Shafiqul Islam, owner of Nabil Paribahan, to purchase the vehicle. As a result, the name of the institution appears on the ownership document or registration. These details of various manipulations by a vicious cycle of corruption surrounding the sale of a single vehicle have emerged in an investigation by Agamir Somoy.
Several calls were made to the mobile phone of Jatiya Party Presidium Member Fakhrul Imam to obtain his statement on the matter but he did not answer. Specific questions were also sent to his WhatsApp number along with a request for time to speak but he did not respond. Similarly, the buyer of the vehicle, Shafiqul Islam, did not answer this reporter’s calls. He also did not respond to text messages.
Fakhrul Imam was elected as a member of Parliament after contesting the fourth, 10th and 11th national parliamentary elections from the Mymensingh 8 constituency. After being elected in 2018, he purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser VX R model SUV under the duty-free quota. The vehicle was registered in his name on June 24, 2020. The registration number was Dhaka Metro Gha 18 7168. Information from Chattogram Customs House shows that the vehicle was purchased for Tk 1.50 crore on June 1 of that year and cleared from Chattogram Port without paying customs duties.
Documents from the Mirpur BRTA office show that the red vehicle has engine number IVD0531293 and chassis number JTMHV02J404305357. Ownership of the vehicle was transferred on February 15 this year. The ownership was changed just two days after the 13th national parliamentary election. Shafiqul Islam, a resident of Husna Center on the fourth floor at 106 Gulshan Avenue, purchased the vehicle. The vehicle was sold and its ownership transferred by resorting to corruption without paying customs duties to the NBR. IPDC Finance provided Shafiqul Islam with a substantial loan to purchase the vehicle through the illegal process. As a result, the institution’s name also appears in the vehicle ownership section.
That is not the end of it. During the transfer of ownership, some important information was entered incorrectly on the BRTA server while keeping the vehicle’s engine number, chassis number and other related information unchanged. The apparent purpose was to prevent the vehicle from being identified as one purchased under the duty-free quota. For example, during registration, the vehicle’s category or brand was listed as Toyota Land Cruiser VX R. Its color was listed as dark red. But in the ownership transfer document, the category was listed as Private Pass, Jeep or Station Wagon, while the brand was listed as Avenza. The color was listed as white.
There are allegations that BRTA Mirpur office Motor Vehicle Inspector Afzal Hossain, Assistant Director Riazul Islam and a broker syndicate were involved in the process. The syndicate pocketed more than Tk 32 lakh by creating an opportunity to evade around Tk 3.25 crore in government revenue and arranging the transfer of ownership of the vehicle.
It has been learned that in October 2020, the NBR issued an order imposing new conditions on the sale and transfer of vehicles brought in under the duty-free facility. It stated that imported vehicles could not be sold for five years after being cleared from the port. If sold after that period, customs duties and taxes would have to be paid at the prescribed rate based on depreciation. In calculating the years based on the depreciation rate over the invoice value, at least one year must have passed from the date of first registration. After that, customs duties and taxes would have to be paid based on depreciation rates of 10 percent for the first year, 20 percent for the second year, 30 percent for the third year, 40 percent for the fourth year, 50 percent for the fifth year, 60 percent for the sixth year, 70 percent for the seventh year and 80 percent for vehicles eight years old or older.
Accordingly, Fakhrul Imam was required to pay Tk 3.15 crore in customs duties and taxes before selling or transferring ownership of the vehicle. But he did not pay even Tk 1 in customs duties and taxes, which is clearly a criminal offense, an NBR official said. In addition, there was a provision requiring a consent letter from the Speaker to be obtained and submitted to the relevant customs house for the transfer of registration or sale of the vehicle. That provision was also not followed.
Relevant officials said the current government passed the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowance) Amendment Bill 2026 in April and abolished the long-standing duty-free vehicle import facility for members of Parliament. The provision under a 1973 order that allowed MPs to import one vehicle without customs duties, VAT, development surcharge and import fees has been repealed. Even if a member of Parliament wants to sell a vehicle that is five years old or older and transfer its ownership, customs duties must be paid in accordance with the NBR order.
