Navy-Run Shipyard Won Tk 342 Crore in Welfare Purchases Without Competitive Bidding
Daily Waadaa investigation says a side agreement would route an estimated Tk 64 crore from the tablet deal to a firm owned by the health minister’s nephew and niece
A Bangladesh Navy-run shipyard received two social welfare purchases worth Tk 342.7 crore (about $27.9 million) without open competition, according to an investigation published by Daily Waadaa on Thursday, October 15. The outlet reports that a private agreement signed the day after the larger contract would pass a large share of that money to a company owned by relatives of Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Hossain Bakul.
On August 23, the Department of Social Services signed with Dockyard and Engineering Works Ltd (DEW) to buy 66,815 Android tablets at Tk 48,000 each, a Tk 320.71 crore contract. In June, a foundation for people with disabilities had already ordered wheelchairs and sewing machines from DEW for Tk 21.99 crore. Both were direct purchases.
Procurement records show the tablet order was placed with DEW alone on August 6. On August 10, an evaluation committee opened, assessed, and negotiated the offer in one sitting, with no rival bid. The estimate was Tk 50,000 a unit; DEW asked for Tk 49,000 and settled at Tk 48,000. A month earlier, the secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division had recommended buying from the state-owned Telephone Shilpa Sangstha. Separately, a March 24 directive from the Prime Minister’s Office required prior approval before military-run enterprises joined government projects. The investigation found no record of that approval in the files it reviewed.
On August 24, DEW, Salextra Ltd and Burak Brake Ltd signed a six-page agreement. DEW keeps 4 percent, about Tk 12.83 crore, regardless of profit or loss. Salextra receives Tk 179.25 crore to import components. The remainder goes to Burak Brake, which Waadaa puts at roughly Tk 64.49 crore after a 20 percent tax deduction, stressing that this is its own estimate and not a confirmed payment. The document describes DEW’s ability to win government work as its goodwill contribution.
Burak Brake was registered in 2021 and lists an apartment in Gulshan-2 as its address; no earlier record of supplying tablets was found. Its owners are Sardar Rafin S A Hossain and his sister Anika Raidha Lia, the minister’s nephew and niece. Their father, Sardar Tofazzal Hossain, known as Liakat, is the minister’s younger brother and a BNP vice-president in Narsingdi. Neither the minister nor his brother appears as a director or signatory in the documents described.
Waadaa also questions the price. A comparable Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+, with keyboard and stylus added, would cost about Tk 34,000, it says, which is Tk 14,000 less per unit and roughly Tk 93.5 crore across the order. Officials responded that the project tablets are specialised. On the wheelchairs, an SGS inspection near Tianjin, China found major defects in 30 of 125 sampled units, against an acceptable limit of seven. That result covers only the sample. The wheelchair order was processed in seven days, and the signed contract left delivery dates, warranty and delay penalties blank.
Social Welfare Minister Prof Dr A Z M Zahid Hossain said the contracts went to a navy-run institution at the lowest rate and no rule was broken, adding that the Prime Minister had been informed. The health minister said he knew nothing of Burak Brake or the contract, acknowledged Rafin as his nephew, and said lawful business draws no objection from him. Liakat denied discussing the purchases; he said his visit to the ministry concerned industries for people with disabilities. Project director Mosharraf Hossain said the process was rushed under pressure and that he was unaware of the sharing arrangement.
About 9,000 tablets have been delivered and inspected, and DEW has asked for more time beyond the October 27 deadline. No court or investigating agency has ruled on the allegations.
