Minister Asaduzzaman Noor has come under fire for awarding lucrative contracts to three companies he co-owns and has been managing for years in a clear case of serious conflict of interest.
The Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Armed Forces Division jointly organised the Independence Day event, ‘Lakho Konthe Sonar Bangla’, at the National Parade Square, where more than 250,000 Bangladeshis sang the national anthem in a bid to create a world record.
The show was ‘managed’ by a firm named ‘Asiatic Events’.
‘Asiatic Marketing and Communications Ltd’ was hired to take care of the creative part while public relations job went to an agency named ‘Forethought PR’.
Asaduzzaman Noor has ownership in all three companies and sits on the Boards of all three. The parent company is Asiatic 360, of which he is a shareholding director.
Official websites of these companies show that he holds top management positions in all these entities.
Noor is the Managing Director of both Asiatic Events and Forethought PR, according to the sites. He is also mentioned Deputy Managing Director of Asiatic Marketing and Communications Ltd.
Many, commenting on social networking websites, have criticised the minister for personally benefitting from the government sponsored event organised by the ministry he runs.
“Mr Noor has committed serious crimes by holding both a government office and profitable posts in private companies. He organised a programme, in the name of patriotism, from which his own companies made direct profits,” an online activist wrote in his Facebook profile. The quotation is a translation from Bengali.
Noor’s working in private companies or sitting on the boards of these companies while being a minister is a clear violation of Bangladesh’s constitution.
“No person appointed to or acting in any office to which this article applies shall hold any office, post or position of profit or emolument or take any part whatsoever in the management or conduct of any company, association or body having profit or gain as its object,” reads Section 147 (3) of the Constitution that deals with remuneration and such matters of certain officers including minister, minister of state or deputy minister.
The government should look into whether Noor’s connection with these businesses amounts to conflict of interest, former cabinet secretary Akbar Ali Khan said, speaking to bdnews24.com.
When bdnews24.com tried to reach the minister over phone, he did not receive the calls. He did not reply to any text messages either.
Asiatic 360 Chairman Aly Zaker told bdnews24.com that Noor was currently ‘just a member of the Board of Directors’.
“He no longer holds any managerial position. He’s resigned.”
Asked whether his ownership in the companies was causing conflict of interest, he said, “I don’t know.”
“Asiatic Events is one of the biggest event management companies. We have done many high-profile jobs. Maybe we got (the Independence Day event) the work because of that.”
“It’s not written anywhere that we won’t get any work just because of a member of the Board of Directors, who does not work with us anymore,” he said.
Aly Zaker also confirmed that Noor was a member of the Board of Directors of Asiatic 360 and the 12 other companies it owns.
Source: bdnews24