Staff Reporter :
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent two separate letters to Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) seeking financial information and other documents related to Mohammad Shahed, the absconding owner of Regent Hospital and chairman of Regent Group, for further investigation.
ACC Deputy Director Abu Bakar Siddique sent the letters to the DGHS director and the head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) under central bank, regarding the matter on Tuesday. ACC Director (Media) Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya confirmed the matter. “The ACC has sought information regarding bank accounts of Mohammad Shahed, the owner of Regent Hospital. At the same time, necessary documents related to Regent Hospital have been sought from the Department of Health,” he said.
On Monday, ACC formed a three-member committee led by ACC Deputy Director Abu Bakar Siddique to carry out a detailed probe into the allegations against Shahed. The other members of the team are Neyamul Hasan Gazi, Sheikh Mohammad, and Golam Mawla.
Following primary investigation, the ACC inquiry team found a vast amount of documented information from other sources regarding Mohammad Shahed, who is also accused of embezzling huge sums by cheating people under the guise of micro-credit and MLM (multi-level-marketing) business.
Besides, the ACC has also received allegations of income tax evasion, and taking bank loans under fake names and identities by Shahed.
On the same day, ACC also decided to launch an investigation into allegations brought against JKG Health Care Chairman Dr Sabrina Arif Chowdhury.
The commission also learnt from various sources that Dr Sabrina conspired with her husband Arif Chowdhury to illegally amass Tk8 crore while being an active government service holder. The duo collected samples from suspected Covid-19 patients from different parts of the country and issued as many as 15,460 fake test reports.
On July 6, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) raided the Uttara and Mirpur branches of Regent hospital on allegations of issuing fake Covid-19 certificates, as well as charging exorbitant fees for Covid-19 testing and treatment of patients.
The RAB mobile court found evidence of at least 6,000 fake Covid-19 test certificates during the raid.
A day later, RAB sealed off the head office of Regent Hospital with directives from DGHS and a case was filed against 17 people, including Regent Group Chairman Shahed, with the Uttara West police station.
On the same day, DGHS ordered the closure of both the Mirpur and Uttara branches of the Regent Hospital.
Meanwhile, Shahed is currently on the run and has been banned from leaving the country. Law enforcement agencies are on the hunt to arrest him.
