Pinaki Bhattacharya: Sajeeb Wazed Joy Behind Tk 5 Billion Loot and Gas Crisis
France-based analyst Pinaki Bhattacharya has claimed in a recent investigation that Bangladesh’s unprecedented gas crisis is the result of widespread corruption, opaque agreements and the direct influence of Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during the previous government. According to Mr. Pinaki, gas supplies to the Habiganj Industrial Park fell to zero on August 12. The following day, 171 factories shut down, leaving between 150,000 and 200,000 workers without jobs. Around 80 percent of production at textile, dyeing and printing mills in Narsingdi, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Savar-Ashulia was suspended. Ten factories of BSRM also shut down. Mohammad Hatim, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said more than 300 garment factories had closed and export losses had reached 40–50 percent.
Two floating LNG terminals in Maheshkhali supply around 37 percent of the country’s daily gas. On July 21, a vessel operated by Excelerate Energy caught fire, which Petrobangla allegedly kept secret. Although repairs were completed on August 15, the LNG cargo scheduled to arrive on August 17 was delayed, causing the stock to run out between August 19 and 22.
Mr. Pinaki alleged that gas was hastily purchased from the spot market in August at $22.35 per unit, more than double the usual price of $9 to $10.40 under regular contracts or previous purchases. He claimed that nearly Tk 500 crore in additional costs were incurred to purchase enough gas from a single cargo to last only three days, raising questions over who benefited from the additional expenditure. Mr. Pinaki said Mr. Joy and Mr. Taufiq-e-Elahi had directly lobbied for a 15-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) agreement with Excelerate in 2016. He also alleged that a vessel built in 2005 and already 13 years old at the time was leased under the arrangement. Bangladesh is expected to receive ownership of the vessel in 2032, by which time it would be nearly equivalent to scrap, he claimed.
According to Mr. Pinaki, Bangladesh pays $454,000 per day in capacity charges for the terminal. The country must continue making these payments even if the vessel remains out of service or no gas is supplied. Mr. Pinaki said, “Wherever Joy’s shadow exists, he will put Bangladesh in danger this way.” He further claimed that factory closures are increasing loan defaults, while fish worth Tk 15 crore have died at fish farms due to the gas crisis. Qatar had reportedly informed Bangladesh in March that it would supply 20 instead of 40 LNG cargoes, but the previous government allegedly failed to take alternative measures over the following five months.
Mr. Pinaki has called on the current government to make public the agreements, loans and capacity-charge terms for both terminals, including the one operated by Excelerate Energy. He warned that without greater transparency, Bangladesh could face an increasingly severe energy and economic crisis.
