ACC raids Sports Directorate over graft allegations

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Tuesday raided the Sports Directorate headquarters in Motijheel following allegations of misappropriation of funds allocated for district and divisional sports activities.

A team led by ACC Assistant Director Jewel Hasan seized documents from the directorate's office after a report in a national daily alleged that officials had embezzled the annual allocations without arranging the designated programmes.

According to the allegations, each district was allotted Tk 3.5 lakhs in the 2023-24 fiscal year to organise events such as swimming, athletics, and other disciplines. However, the funds were reportedly withdrawn using fake documents, with no sports activities held.

"There has been an allegation that every district was allotted Tk 3.5 lakhs to organise sports events in 2023-24, but the funds were withdrawn through fake documents. That is why we conducted the raid," Jewel told The Daily Star over phone.

He added, "We did not find the head of the organisation, but we collected some documents. After examining them, we have noticed irregularities. A report will be submitted after reviewing all documents thoroughly."

Md Mostafa Zaman, director of the Sports Directorate, told The Daily Star that he was not present at the office during the raid and denied that the ACC had taken any documents from his office.