Padma Bridge graft scandal

The Padma Bridge graft scandal was a political scandal in Bangladesh during 2016 and 2017, involving the Bangladesh Awami League and the Padma Bridge, a 6.51-kilometer (4.05 mi) road—rail bridge across the Padma River and Bangladesh's largest bridge.

The World Bank were to have financed the project with $1.2 billion (£764 million) of credit, but they pulled out citing corruption concerns, specifically that Canadian construction company SNC-Lavalin had bribed a Bangladeshi official in exchange for a construction contract.[1]

Two SNC-Lavalin executives were charged in Canada, but after the court excluded wiretap evidence the prosecution withdrew and the court dismissed the case.[2]

World Bank personal statement

The World Bank has published a detailed statement about their allegation of corruption relating to the Padma Bridge and their subsequent pullout from the financing of the project.[3] They have also published a FAQ ("Frequently Asked Questions" document) in order to better explain their position and activities.[4]

The World Bank alleged that there had been a "conspiracy" plotted to stage a high-level corruption in the project:

The World Bank has credible evidence corroborated by a variety of sources which points to a high-level corruption conspiracy among Bangladeshi government officials, SNC Lavalin executives, and private individuals in connection with the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project.

They have provided the Bangladeshi government with evidence of the corruption plot and stated that they couldn't advance forward with the loan if no action was taken:

To be willing to go forward with the alternative turnkey-style approach, they sought the following actions: (i) place all public officials suspected of involvement in the corruption scheme on leave from Government employment until the investigation is completed; (ii) appoint a special inquiry team within the ACC to handle the investigation, and (iii) agree to provide full and adequate access to all investigative information to a panel appointed by the World Bank composed of internationally recognized experts so that the panel can give guidance to the lenders on the progress, adequacy, and fairness of the investigation. We worked extensively with the Government and the ACC to ensure that all actions requested were fully aligned with Bangladeshi laws and procedures.

They also said that they sent a delegation to the Government of Bangladesh to seek an explanation from them, but the explanation from the Bangladeshi side was unsatisfactory:

... we sent a high-level team to Dhaka to fully explain the Bank’s position and receive the Government’s response. The response has been unsatisfactory at the time.

Investigation

Canadian court

SNC-Lavalin officials Ramesh Saha's diary had a list of Bangladeshi citizens who were to receive 10–12% commission for awarding the Padma Bridge contract to SNC-Lavalin.[5] According to her diary: "Padma PCC, 4% Min, 2% Kaiser, 2% Nixon, 1% Secretary and 1% Moshi Rahman." According to the documents, "Min" referred to former communication minister Syed Abul Hossain; "Kaiser" is former state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury; "Nixon" is the prime minister's nephew Mujibur Rahman; "Secretary" is former Bridges Division secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan; and "Moshi Rahman" is the prime minister's economic affairs adviser Mashiur Rahman. Another 2% was kept for someone, but the name was not available.[6][7]

CBC TV

CBC TV of Canada performed investigative journalism, and they speculated that there was a wide-ranged plot of corruption in the project.[8]

Aftermath

The World Bank blacklisted the Canadian firm, SNC-Lavalin Inc, and banned it from any business for 10 years due to the firm's alleged involvement in Padma Bridge project corruption scandal.[9] Since the World Bank withdrew its involvement, the estimated cost of the bridge has climbed by over US$3 billion[10] and the expected completion date is being pushed back by four years to 2022.[11][12] On 24 January 2017, in her speech in the parliament, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina blamed Muhammad Yunus for the World Bank's pulling out of the project.[13] According to her, Yunus lobbied with the former USA Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to persuade the World Bank to terminate the loan.[14] The bridge is now under construction in Bangladesh with its own resources.[15]

Dismissal of charges by a Canadian court and Bangladesh ACC

In 2015, Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigated the case after the World Bank continuously pushed the government to take action against the alleged perpetrators. After 53 days of investigation, ACC found nobody to be guilty. On the basis of ACC's report, Dhaka district judge court acquitted all the seven government officials who were alleged to have been involved in the corruption plot.[16] Before that, the ACC exonerated Syed Abul Hossain and ex-state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury from the allegation of involvement in the corruption conspiracy.[17]

On February 11, 2017, the Canadian court found no proof of the Padma bridge bribery conspiracy and the Ontario Superior Court acquitted ex-SNC-Lavalin executives, dismissing the case.[2][18] According to the Dhaka Tribune, Justice Ian Nordheimer rebuked the Canadian police, saying: "Reduced to its essentials, the information provided in the [wiretap applications] was nothing more than speculation, gossip, and rumor."

References
  1. "World Bank cancels Bangladesh bridge loan over corruption". BBC News. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  2. "Canada court finds no proof of Padma bridge bribery conspiracy". The Daily Star. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. "World Bank Statement on Padma Bridge". World Bank. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  4. "Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Cancellation of the World Bank Credit for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project". World Bank. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
  5. "The Financialexpress-bd". print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. "Padma Bridge scam: ACC attempts to obtain original copy of Ramesh's diary | Dhaka Tribune". archive.dhakatribune.com. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  7. "PM rejects her family's involvement in Padma graft". Dhaka Tribune. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  8. SNC and A Bridge for Bangladesh [CBC News] – May 15, 2013, YouTube, 19 May 2013, retrieved 13 January 2017
  9. "World Bank blacklists SNC-Lavalin over corruption in Padma Bridge project". News.trust.org. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  10. "Project Cost as per RDPP". PADMA MULTIPURPOSE BRIDGE PROJECT. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  11. "Padma Bridge likely to open to traffic by June 2022". Dhaka Tribune. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  12. Binette, Daniel (6 November 2015). "When Should Corruption Be Tolerated? The Case of the Padma Bridge". GAB | The Global Anticorruption Blog. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  13. "PM blames Yunus for cancellation of WB's Padma financing". Prothom Alo. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  14. "Nobel laureate Yunus got Hillary Clinton to stop WB funding for Padma Bridge, says Hasina". bdnews24.com. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  15. "By self-funding the Padma dridge,Dhaka has got the West off its back". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  16. "All Padma bridge graft accused acquitted". The Daily Star. 26 October 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  17. "The Financialexpress-bd". print.thefinancialexpress-bd.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  18. "Court throws out Padma Bridge case". Dhaka Tribune. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
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