A flurry of allegations of irregularities and corruption has surfaced against Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam, former chief executive officer (CEO) of the Chattogram City Corporation (CCC). The charges include obstructing development projects, forming a manipulation syndicate, embezzling funds, abusing power, and promoting favoured officials.

Following these allegations, CCC Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain has sent a letter to the ministry, requesting the removal of the former CEO and the adoption of necessary measures.

Mayor Dr Shahadat Hossain alleged, “To hinder CCC’s development, Touhidul would hold on to project files in his office for an inordinately long period. He displayed gross negligence over the Tk51 crore holding tax manipulation incident.”

The mayor further said Touhidul would always leave the office on Thursday noon and return on Sunday afternoon to spend time with his family living in Dhaka, and collected travel allowances (TA) from CCC for that personal travel. Moreover, he controlled the entire network of corruption and irregularities there.

“As far as I know, several agencies are investigating his corruption. For the sake of the city’s development, I was compelled to send a letter requesting his transfer,” Dr Shahadat added.

Responding to the allegations, former CEO Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam said, “I never did anything at CCC beyond the legal framework. I did not obstruct development work — rather, I took time to review files in the corporation’s interest. During my tenure, I was never involved in any form of irregularity or corruption.”

Investigations reveal that Sheikh Muhammad Touhidul Islam was appointed as CCC’s chief executive in January 2023, reportedly through the influence of SM Rashedul Alam, known as the cashier and close aide of Omar Faruk, president of the Chattogram North Jubo League and former Central Jubo League chairman. His appointment was said to have been facilitated by then Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Ahmed Kaykaus.

After assuming office, Touhidul and Rashed jointly established a syndicate that allegedly controlled CCC’s tender and recruitment business. This group reportedly collected 6–8% commission on every development project, amassing crores of taka from contractors over two and a half years.

It is alleged that in 2023, the syndicate manipulated two holding tax cases involving Tk51 crore to reduce the payable tax. Despite the matter being exposed, the CEO took no action. Several other allegations of tax manipulation also remain against the Touhidul syndicate.

Due to these manipulations, the CCC lost hundreds of crores in revenue. To automate holding tax and trade licence systems, the previous government had awarded a Tk3.54 crore contract to ATN & RK Software Ltd. Although the project remained incomplete, the CEO still paid the company Tk3.51 crore.

Total disregard for public service

Touhidul is accused of misappropriating nearly Tk20 lakh by presenting his personal trips to Dhaka as official visits. From February 2023 to September 2025, he claimed Tk19,78,677 in travel allowances, of which Tk8,22,895 was drawn within just eight months — between 22 December 2024 and 1 September 2025.

Sources said every Thursday, Touhidul would leave for Dhaka to spend time with his family, returning to the office only on Sunday afternoons — disrupting CCC’s day-to-day operations.

Besides, it had long been customary for CCC engineers to be sent abroad for advanced training, but he would withhold their nominations and instead go himself. Despite not being an engineer, he attended engineering training programmes in Japan, India, England, the United States, and South Korea.

After assuming office, Mayor Dr Shahadat directed officials to undertake key projects to reduce public suffering. However, the chief executive allegedly withheld over 200 project estimates on his desk for more than six months without valid reason and halted tender processes.

He is also accused of delaying the evaluation of 10 tenders worth about Tk80 crore for four months before ordering re-tendering, causing immense hardship to city residents. Reportedly, while he deliberately withheld files from most departments, he would personally expedite and approve files from the Cleanliness Department, with which he maintained close ties and business interests.

He allegedly promoted engineer Shahinul Islam despite his not being employed at CCC at the time and accepted a large bribe to have him transferred back to the corporation.

Likewise, he unlawfully appointed engineer Farzana Mukta — still in a temporary post — as Project Director (PD) of the Cleaners’ Residential Complex Project without ministry approval. He also promoted engineer Mahmud Safqat to executive engineer before his job was made permanent, despite his having only one and a half years of service experience.

His wife, Deputy Secretary Nure Mahbuba Joya, served under the previous Awami League government in the Security Services Division and Police Branches 2, 3, and 4 of the Home Ministry. His father-in-law is vice-president of the Rajshahi Awami League. Leveraging these connections, Touhidul allegedly exercised unchecked power within CCC during the Awami League government.