Dhaka: World Bank's Country Director in Dhaka Ellen Goldstein on Tuesday said the World Bank expert panel was expected to issue its report on the Padma Bridge issue by the end of the current month.

"I’m still optimistic" about the World Bank financing of the Padma Bridge project, she said on the sidelines of a programme at the ICDDRB auditorium here as approached by newsmen on the Bank's latest position on the issue.

"Of course, it (the report) will become public," she added.

She said the three-member expert panel, which earlier visited Dhaka twice to review Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigations into the alleged "graft plot" involving the project, was currently reviewing the First Information Report (FIR) against the suspects.

World Bank officials familiar with the process said the ACC provided the Bank with the original Bangla version of the FIR and a translated version of the copy was given to the panel for review.

Goldstein said after the submission of the report, the lead financer WB and co- financiers-Asian Development Bank, JICA and Islamic Development Bank will have to talk and take decision also.

"It is two-stage process-the panel of experts will submit report and then all lenders need to make their own decisions about the financing," she explained.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has kicked of shuttling of letters with the graft expert panel of World Bank stationed in its Washington head quarters on the corruption conspiracy over appointment of consultant for the Padma Bridge.

ACC Chairman Golam Rahman disclosed this while talking with journalists at the ACC head office in the city’s Segunbagicha area on Tuesday afternoon.

Golam Rahman said, “The first information report (FIR) in the Padma Bridge graft conspiracy case was transparent, neutral and credible too. We’ve send a copy of the FIR to the World Bank and now the World Bank would let us know their reaction on the basis of their findings on the FIR.”

While commenting on three accused living in Canada and diary of Ramesh, Golam Rahman said, “We’ve been keeping in touch with Canada and after receiving the full investigation report from that country it would be clear who would face the music.” 

After a thorough investigation on the Padma Bridge graft conspiracy, the ACC filed a case with Banani police station on December 17 (Case no 19) accusing seven and excluding Finance Adviser Dr Mosihur Rahman, former communications minister Syed Abul Hossain and former state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury though the World Bank had provided substantial evidence against them over their involvement to the government and ACC both.

ACC Deputy Director Abdullah Al Zahid filed the case against seven accused – Bridge Divison Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Superintendent Engineer Kazi Md Ferdous, Executive Engineer of Roads and Highways Md Riaz Ahmed Jaber, Deputy Managing Director of EPC Golam Mostafa, SNC Lavalin’s vice president Kevin Wallace, vice –president (International Project) Romesh Shaha and former Director Mohammad Ismail.

According to the case, the accused have violated the laws and regulations to appoint the SNC-Lavalin as consultant for the Padma Bridge project.

According to the case statement, former communication minister Syed Abul Hossain had held meetings with executives of SNC Lavalin and other institutions in various stages of the tender process.

Three key accused SNC Lavalin’s vice president Kevin Wallace, vice –president (International Project) Romesh Shaha and former Director Mohammad Ismail were facing a case filed by World Bank against them in Canadian court and they have secured bail in the case.

In the process of holding meetings with SNC Lavalin, former state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury had introduced the SNC Lavalin executives to Syed Abul Hossain and played the role of a mediator. But no witness or circumstantial evidence could be secured against them, though further scrutiny would be made against them to look into their role in the bribe conspiracy. 

During the second visit of the World Bank expert panel’s visit to Dhaka on December 1-5, the Anti-Corruption Commission tried its best to save the two former ministers – Syed Abul Hossain and Abul Hasan Chowdhury and also Prime Minister’s Economic Affairs Adviser Dr Mosihur Rahman whose name was dropped from the draft report.

But during the meeting ACC had insisted on dropping the names of two ‘Abuls’ from the list of graft suspects mentioned even in their draft report and annoyed by the insistence, the WB panel left Dhaka abruptly without issuing any formal statement though it was supposed to make a formal disclosure about the ACC probe progress.

The WB in its correspondence with the government and also with ACC clearly mentioned names of two ‘Abuls’ and Adviser Mosihur Rahman and provided documents about their alleged involvement in the graft conspiracy.

While WB was pushing for quickening the ACC probe, the graft watchdog was time and again trying to take much time and delay the whole process of funding by the multilateral lending agencies for the project in the name of ongoing probe, progress of which is plagued with questions and conspiracy.

The WB has been consistent in its position that it has concrete evidence of corruption in the Padma Bridge project and those evidence have been given to both the government and the ACC, but the ACC on many occasions towing the government line said it has not found any graft evidence. The government high-ups has been pressing a point that WB had not provided any fund yet so how could corruption be held though the reality is different as corruption and bribery always take place in the first place even before launching of any project.

On June 29, 2012, the WB announced the cancellation of a $1.2 billion IDA credit for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project and it announced its engagement anew in the Padma Multipurpose Bridge on September 20 under some conditions.

Following accord with the government, the World Bank formed a three-member expert panel for looking into the ACC investigation on graft allegations. The panel was formed after the government requested the World Bank to reconsider financing for the Padma Bridge project.

Then External Panel of anti-corruption experts of the WB visited Dhaka twice -first in October and then in December last year to assess the progress of the Anti-Corruption Commission's (ACC) investigation into evidence of corruption under the Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project.

The three-member panel is chaired by Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The two other panel members are Timothy Tong, former commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China; and Richard Alderman, former director of Britain's Serious Fraud Office.

The panel made its first visit to Bangladesh in October 2012.

The WB cancelled its $1.2 billion funding on June 29 on the $2.9 billion bridge project, saying it had proof of a "corruption conspiracy" involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of a Canadian firm and some individuals.

During the expert panel’s second Dhaka trip on December 1-5, the ACC had tried its best to convince the panel regarding exemption of the ministers from the case but the panel was not convinced and they abruptly concluded their mission in Dhaka and left without issuing any press statement on the status of their talks with ACC and fate of the loan on the Padma Bridge.  

Ends/AMA/08/01/13