The government in a major shuffle of its foreign missions has removed Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to the UK amid a cloud of charges of abuse of office and irregularities.
Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, a former foreign secretary, is currently facing several audit objections for ‘misuse of powers and irregularities’, less than two years into his appointment.
The foreign ministry said on Sunday he would be posted in the Brazil mission as ambassador.
Permanent Representative to the UN Offices in Geneva Md Abdul Hannan will replace him.
Ambassador to Brazil M Shameem Ahsan will join as the new Permanent Representative to the UN offices in Geneva and Vienna.
Quayes took charge of the London mission on Dec 9, 2012.
The Comptroller and Auditor General’s office pulled up his mission for ‘irregularities, mismanagement and lack of transparency’ in spending public money.
Its 2012-13 report says the High Commission did not have a convincing answer to 47 of the 57 audit objections raised by the audit.
It has asked for refund of funds spent without ‘due authorisation’.
Quayes is also facing criticism for not doing enough for the government during and after the Jan 5 elections.
The Hasina administration faced a wave of criticism from the UK and other Western countries over the balloting.
Quayes, a Liberal Arts graduate from Dhaka University, is a recruit of the 1982 batch of BCS foreign service cadre.
He previously served as ambassador in the Maldives and Russia. He worked in Bangladesh missions in Tokyo, Singapore and Geneva.
He had been the Foreign Secretary between 2009 and 2012.
Hannan, also a career diplomat and Quayes’ replacement, has been Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Switzerland and Permanent Representative to the UN Offices in Geneva and Vienna.
He joined the civil service in 1984.
He studied in economics at Chittagong University and had previously served in Oman, Karachi, Ottawa, Kolkata and Moscow.
Shameem Ahsan, currently posted in Brazil, will replace Hannan, the foreign ministry said in a media statement.
A doctor by training, Ahsan also became a civil servant in 1984.
He served in Bangladesh missions in Tehran, Brunei Darussalam, New Delhi and the Geneva missions.
Ambassador Ahsan obtained both the ‘Diplome de l’Institut’ and the “Diplôme d’etudes Supérieures Specialisés (DESS)” in Diplomacy and Administration of International Organizations from the Jean Monnet-Sceaux Law Faculty of the University of Paris XI in 1988.
Source: bdnews24