Sheikh Bashir Uddin, commerce adviser in the interim government and CEO of AkijBashir Group, has alleged that he had to pay a bribe of Tk20 crore to secure a gas connection for his industrial plant during the Awami League regime. The statement was made at a seminar on energy crisis mitigation held at The Westin Dhaka.
“I had to bear the cost of building a 40-kilometre gas pipeline myself and still pay bribes for road-cutting permissions,” Bashir revealed, adding that he had to endure humiliation, including standing in the rain outside the residence of State Minister for Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid Bipu.
“I was treated disrespectfully and forced to repeatedly say, ‘Yes, sir,’ just to get the necessary approval,” he said.
Bashir criticized widespread corruption in the energy sector, citing it as a “pillar of criminalization.” He recalled Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan’s observation at the seminar, agreeing that systemic corruption in the sector needs to be addressed.
Sheikh Bashir, also managing director of Akij Group, was recently appointed as the adviser for the commerce and jute ministries.
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