BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has accused the Awami League government of overshadowing ongoing corruption and embezzlement with current political debates, allowing the ruling party to evade scrutiny.

“The theft and plundering under the Awami League are being eclipsed by political debates, enabling them to benefit from the situation. People are forgetting how the Awami League has devastated the country and hollowed out the economy,"

Fakhrul stated this during a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s office in Gulshan, Dhaka, yesterday. The press conference coincided with the release of a report outlining corruption in the power and energy sectors under the previous government.

Fakhrul called for more focus on the issue, emphasizing, "The corruption in the power sector is unprecedented. We urge journalists to give these matters the attention they deserve."

The report, presented by BNP Standing Committee Member and former State Minister for Power and Energy Iqbal Hasan Mahmud, accused the Awami League government of “financial plundering and money laundering” in the power and energy sectors over the past 15 years.

Mahmud also called for full transparency, demanding that all contracts within these sectors under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s administration be made public.

Mahmud further criticized the Awami League for turning the power sector into a profit-driven enterprise, citing specific instances of mismanagement and waste. One of the key allegations was the use of capacity charges for inefficient power plants.

“They’ve extracted nearly ৳1 lakh crore over the past 15 years under the guise of capacity charges for non-functional or low-efficiency plants,” Mahmud claimed.

The report estimated that the total expenditure in the power sector over 15 years amounted to $2,830 billion, or approximately ৳3.34 lakh crore.

The report also named key companies allegedly benefiting from inflated capacity charges, including Summit Group (৳10,630 crore), Agro International (৳7,932 crore), and United Group (৳6,575 crore).

The report also criticized the government’s reliance on quick rental power plants, which were initially meant to be temporary solutions to power shortages but have operated for far longer than their intended lifespan.

"These plants, designed for quick profits with minimal accountability, have extended their operations beyond the two years they were meant for. Over a span of nine years, capacity charges alone amounted to ৳11,015 crore for electricity imported from India," Mahmud alleged.

Further highlighting the inefficiencies, the BNP pointed to excessive spending on smart pre-paid meters and other infrastructure.

“Pre-paid meters, which were bought at ৳6,200 each, were overpriced by a margin of ৳1,720 per unit, causing unnecessary expenditure,” Mahmud said.

He also accused the government of corruption in the Ruppur nuclear project, claiming that $500 billion had been embezzled, and referenced ongoing investigations by international bodies into the matter.

Mirza Fakhrul emphasized that if BNP were to come to power, it would review all major projects in the power and energy sectors to ensure transparency and accountability. He underscored the need for the government to make all public contracts open to scrutiny.

“The Awami League’s exploitation has left the economy in ruins. It is time to expose the truth,” Fakhrul concluded, calling for collective action to address systemic corruption in critical national sectors.

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