The Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a lawsuit against four managers at Biman Bangladesh Airlines (BG, Dhaka), including former Managing Director Mosaddique Ahmed, alleging graft and abuse of power during the pilot recruitment process.
The ACC said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page that "the defendants did not follow the conventional rules of the airline in determining the educational and age qualifications of the candidates". Specifically, they allegedly lowered educational requirements while increasing the age limit to accommodate candidates.
In addition, the four managers were accused of influencing entrance exams results, adding more points for some candidates.
There were 32 pilots who allegedly benefitted from the corruption scheme, including Mossadique Ahmed's nephew. Of this group, 28 reportedly failed the entrance exams and had their results doctored, The Daily Star has reported.
The three other defendants are Director (Admin) Partha Kumar Pandit, Director (Flight Operations) Captain Farhad Hassan Jamil, and General Manager Fakhrul Hossain Chowdhury.
The lawsuits names a relatively narrow group of individuals as defendants. Earlier this year, the ACC questioned more executives who were not charged in the end.
