ACC finds evidence of corruption in BCB's 'Mujib 100' celebrations

In 2020, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) organized celebrations for Mujib Year to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has uncovered evidence of embezzlement involving approximately Tk20 crore linked to the event.

Speaking to the media, ACC officials said they visited the BCB office to investigate three key issues. Initially, BCB was allocated Tk15 crore for the Mujib Year celebrations, which was later increased to Tk25 crore. However, records indicate that only around Tk7 crore was actually spent, raising concerns over the possible misuse of Tk18 crore. Including an additional Tk2 crore, the total suspected embezzlement amounts to Tk20 crore.

They also stated that allegations have been raised about the team selection process in the Third Division Cricket League, where proper guidelines were allegedly ignored.

In another case, the BCB claimed that ticket sales from the 3rd to the 10th seasons of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) brought in a total of Tk10.6 crore. However, in the 11th season alone, ticket sales reportedly reached nearly Tk13 crore. The ACC is also looking into possible irregularities in this matter.

ACC Assistant Director Al Amin spoke to the media, stating, "For Mujib Borsho, the initial allocation was Tk15 crore, but BCB claimed to have spent Tk25 crore. However, they have only provided documents for Tk7 crore so far and verbally mentioned an additional Tk2 crore. As a result, we have found preliminary evidence suggesting that Tk19–20 crore may have been misused. Furthermore, in previous years, only 2–3 teams participated in the Third Division qualifiers, but this year, 60 teams were involved. We are investigating whether this was done solely to reduce entry fees or if there were other factors involved. Additionally, while ticket sales for the first 8 seasons of the BPL totaled Tk15 crore, the 11th season alone reportedly generated Tk13 crore. We are looking into this as well."

It is important to note that in early February, the BCB formed a three-member independent investigation committee to probe these corruption allegations. The committee is headed by former Appellate Division Justice Mirza Hossain Haider, with former cricketer Shakil Kasem and international lawyer Dr. Khaled H. Chowdhury as members.

Earlier, the National Sports Council had also set up a special fact-finding committee, named Sottyanushandhan, to investigate the issue of unpaid wages in the BPL.