The Anti-Corruption Commission has initiated an inquiry against Matiur Rahman, who was removed from his post as the president of the National Board of Revenue's (NBR) Customs, Excise and VAT Appellate Tribunal on Sunday following controversy over purchasing a Tk15 lakh goat ahead of Eid-ul-Azha.
The ACC decision to run an inquiry against Matiur was taken on 4 June, said the anti-graft commission’s Secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen on Sunday.
A three-member committee headed by an ACC deputy director has already started to work on this matter, Khorsheda Yasmeen added.
Meanwhile, Matiur Rahman was transferred to the Internal Resources Division (IRD) of the Finance Ministry and a process to remove him from the directorship of state-owned Sonali Bank is in progress, said sources in the ministry of Finance.
Matiur Rahman came in the limelight after a young man who is said to be his son, reportedly bought a goat for Tk15 lakh from Sadeeq Agro in Mohammadpur during Eid-ul-Azha this year and went viral over it.
Since then, discussions began on the young man, named Mushfiqur Rahman Ifat, and how a 19-year-old can afford such an expensive sacrificial animal along with expensive watches, and cars, and maintain a luxurious lifestyle.
There have been also calls to investigate Matiur for corruption.
Matiur, however, has said Ifat is not his son.
During a television interview, Matiur Rahman said: "I do not have a son named Ifat. I have one son and one daughter. My son's name is Ahmed Toufiqur Rahman and my daughter's is Farhana Rahman.”
“My son is very religious, prays five times a day, and has studied abroad. He left a job worth $100,000 and now lives with us in Bashundhara. The slander that is being spread is reclusive and deeply hurtful,” he added.
Despite these denials, evidence suggesting a familial link surfaced.
Matiur Rahman is said to have two wives.
Further fueling the speculations, Feni-2 Member of Parliament Nizam Uddin Hazari has said that Ifat is indeed the son of Matiur Rahman from his second wife, who is the MP’s maternal cousin.
The MP said Matiur Rahman regularly participates in family events with his second wife and may have denied the relationship out of anger.
