Letters Sent to 18 Offices to Verify Joint Stock DD Harun’s Assets

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has begun verifying the asset statement submitted by Md. Harun Or Rashid, deputy director of the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), who has been accused of accumulating assets worth crores of taka in his name and through others.

The verification process began after the new ACC commission took charge. At this stage, letters have already been sent to at least 18 government offices seeking records and information. The inquiry is being conducted by ACC Assistant Director Md. Naushad Ali, according to reliable sources.

The sources said records have been sought from at least 18 offices, including various banks through Bangladesh Bank, different sub-registrar offices through the respective district registrars, land offices, stock exchanges and the Directorate of National Savings.

According to ACC sources, Md. Harun Or Rashid, deputy director of the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, allegedly became the owner of assets worth crores of taka through alleged irregularities in his appointment and promotions.

The report said questions were raised over the process through which he joined the government service as an office assistant in 1992. He later received promotions as a higher-grade assistant and examiner of accounts. Although the promotion committee recommended Mr. Harun for the post of inspector, his promotion letter was issued for the post of examiner.

The report alleges that he obtained the job in exchange for a large bribe. It further alleges that in 2009, he secured a promotion by using his connections with influential officials of the then Awami League government. After receiving the promotion, he allegedly became involved in corruption in an effort to recover the money he had invested.

The report further alleges that he later secured another promotion as assistant registrar through the Awami League network using money allegedly obtained through corruption. Through successive promotions and favourable postings, he allegedly became the owner of assets worth crores of taka. Daily Inqilab had previously published a detailed report on the allegations against him on December 3, 2024.

The report said even his relatives were surprised by how he accumulated substantial wealth despite being a low-paid lower-division clerk. He allegedly accumulated properties in his own name and through others in the capital and his home areas. These allegedly include a house in Tutpara, Khulna, and another house in Basupara of the same city.

In Dhaka, he allegedly purchased a flat worth several crores of taka on the fourth floor of a building owned by a shell company in Borobagh, behind Mirpur Police Station. He also allegedly bought a flat in Mirpur DOHS in his daughter’s name. The report further claims that substantial illegal assets are held in the names of close relatives and that he has accumulated considerable property in his home district of Jashore.

At Shah Ali Tower at 33 Karwan Bazar in the capital, the report said, there is a consultancy firm registered in the name of his wife, advocate Mithila. However, the report alleges that Harun himself unofficially runs the firm.

According to the report, when companies came to the Joint Stock office for new registration or renewal, confidential documents were allegedly taken to his personal chamber. If an applicant company had deficiencies in its documents, Mr. Harun allegedly helped get them approved at the Joint Stock office.

The report described his alleged personal operation of the firm as something of an open secret at the Joint Stock office. It further alleged that whenever his superiors tried to take action against him, Mr. Harun would identify himself as a relative of Saifuzzaman Shikhor, who was an APS to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He also allegedly referred to relatives holding senior positions in the defence forces and police administration.

The report further alleged that he continues to intimidate people by referring to his alleged connections with influential figures in both the ruling and opposition camps. As a result, despite being under investigation over allegations of corruption, no effective action has so far been taken against him, according to the report.

It also said the Ministry of Commerce has recently launched a separate investigation against him. Before his posting at the Joint Stock head office in Karwan Bazar, Harun Or Rashid served at the Chattogram and Rajshahi offices of the organisation.

During that period, allegations were raised against him of misappropriating government funds, taking bribes and accumulating crores of taka through extensive corruption. Based on specific allegations, the ACC’s Chattogram office began an inquiry in 2013.

The report alleges that he managed to suppress that inquiry and subsequently secured a promotion by allegedly paying a large amount of money. On December 31, 2018, the long-pending file was placed before an ACC commission meeting, which decided to reopen the inquiry.

Accordingly, the inquiry documents were sent to the ACC’s Chattogram Integrated District Office-1 on October 19, 2020. The report alleges that the complaint remained suppressed there for about a year.

In 2021, the ACC’s then Assistant Director Md. Shahidul Islam Moral collected relevant records. As part of the process, he sent a letter to the Joint Stock authorities on October 27 that year seeking information about Harun’s total salary and allowances received during his service. The report alleges that Mr. Harun later managed to suppress that inquiry as well by paying a large bribe.

Subsequently, ACC headquarters Assistant Director Ranjit Kumar was assigned to investigate the matter. He submitted a report recommending that Mr. Harun be asked to submit a statement of assets.

Following the recommendation, Mr. Harun submitted his asset statement last year. After the ACC was recently reconstituted under the leadership of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, Assistant Director Md. Naushad Ali was assigned to verify the submitted asset statement.

The verification of Mr. Harun’s assets is being conducted under the supervision of Manowara Begum, director of the ACC’s Chattogram desk.
Asked about the investigation into Harun, ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Md. Aktarul Islam said on Monday that the current commission has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward corruption among public servants. He said, “It does not matter to the ACC how big or how small a corrupt person is. The ACC is giving equal importance to the inquiry and investigation of all scheduled corruption cases.”