Staff Reporter :
Some officials, including the former Executive Director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association have embezzled a large amount of money from the core funds of the organisation, which came in its favour for three projects.
Executive Director Advocate Salma Ali has resigned from the post after an investigation team found the irregularities truth.
President of the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association Advocate Faozia Karim told The New Nation that the investigation report is correct. But she denied to divulge more on it.
This correspondent has recently received a copy of the investigation report regarding money embezzlement prepared by a team formed by the organisation. According to the investigation report, majority of the donations of the association’s two core funds has been forfeited by some officials. One fund is in IFIC bank and another one in HSBC bank. The association’s executive body was not concerned about the three Projects of ILO (International Labour Organization), WHO (World Health Organization) and Primark. The Executive Director did not mention about these projects in the report or in the monthly meetings of the association.
Officials did not mention any name of any project in the resolution form, which is used to withdraw money from the core funds. The investigation team did not get the calculation of Tk 347,500 of a project of the WHO. Abdullah Al Hasan, Programme Director of the association, along with the Executive Director Advocate Salma Ali, transferred this money by irregularities.
Advocate Salma Ali and Abdullah Al Hasan along with three other people granted about Tk 1.6 crore (1,17,407 Pound) from the Primark, a foreign organisation, for a project in favour of the women’s association. But they did not deposit the money with the account of the association.
After receiving the money they opened a separate office in different areas of the capital city and Salma Ali appointed her daughter Amona Chowdhury as the coordinator of the project. Total project money was deposited to a joint account opened with the names of Abdullah Al Hasan and Amona Chowdhury. They publish a booklet using the name of the association, which is totally contrary to the association’s activities, the investigation report said.
Abdullah Al Hasan acknowledged his irregularities to the investigation team. He said, the Primark’s project came in 2015. Hasan signed the agreement paper and the donated money was deposited to his personal account.
Later Salma Ali sent an authorization letter to the Primark to set a different office for this project. And she finally started a separate office for the project at Baridhara area of the city, which was already being used as her husband Sadeq Ali’s office. Salma Ali’s daughter Amona Chowdhury was appointed as the coordinator of the project in that office. Salma Ali received Tk 30,00,000 from the coordinator, Hasan said in his statement.
When disagreement arose over the second phase of Primark’s project, then Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association got chance to be informed about the project and the donation. Before the disagreement the association could not know anything on the project.
Salma Ali acknowledged to the association that Hasan blackmailed her.
She said, allegations brought against her were not correct. Abdullah Al Hasan, Programme Director of the association, did all the irregularities without her concern. But now, some members of the association were trying to undermine her.
