Serious allegations have been raised against Mohammad Abdur Rakib, former Director General of the Central Intelligence Cell (CIC) of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and currently Commissioner of Taxes at Dhaka Tax Zone-8, involving alleged bribery, abuse of power, loss of government revenue, acquisition of assets beyond known sources of income and money laundering abroad.
On August 30, 2026, Barrister Rukon Uddin Ahmed, on behalf of the Bangladesh Nationalist Lawyers Forum, submitted a written complaint to the Cabinet Division seeking an investigation into the allegations and appropriate legal action against Rakib.
The complaint alleged that Rakib had been involved in various irregularities, corruption, bribery, extortion, revenue losses and the accumulation of substantial assets at different stages of his career. According to the complaint, on September 8, a letter signed by Deputy Secretary Tania Afroz of the General Branch of the Cabinet Division was sent to the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and the Secretary of the Internal Resources Division, seeking necessary action against Rakib.
The complaint further alleged that Rakib had portrayed himself as a “foster son” of former NBR chairman Abdur Rahman and used the claimed connection to establish influence within the revenue administration. It alleged that he subsequently abused his position and accumulated illegal assets worth around Tk 1,000 crore.
The complaint also alleged that during the Awami League government, Rakib was a close “donor” to the government and a corrupt official. It further alleged that, ahead of the 2024 national election, he collected Tk 1,800 crore from various business organisations through bribery in 2023 to support the then ruling Awami League.
The complaint also made allegations about Rakib's conduct following the fall of the Awami League government on August 5, 2024. It claimed that he began growing a beard and wearing a cap and panjabi and allegedly attempted to portray himself as being close to the Jamaat-e-Islami leadership in order to remain out of the spotlight. Rakib, however, has categorically denied the allegations.
According to the complaint, Rakib allegedly demanded large sums of money from several major business groups while handling their tax files. The complaint named Akij Group, Square Group, City Group and Mir Group, alleging that he demanded substantial sums in connection with the disposal of their files.
It also alleged that Ha-Meem Group suffered losses of nearly Tk 1,000 crore after the company refused to pay a Tk 100 crore bribe allegedly demanded by Rakib. The complaint further alleged that Rakib received Tk 1 crore from United Group, Tk 100 crore from S Alam Group and Tk 350 crore in the name of advance revenue.
The complainants claimed that such activities resulted in losses of hundreds of crores of taka in government revenue.
The complaint also alleged that, while serving at the NBR, Rakib signed 30 files in exchange for cash without maintaining official records. It further accused him of being directly involved in the alleged embezzlement of Tk 324 crore through forgery and collusion with a Deputy Commissioner (DC).
The complaint included details of substantial properties allegedly owned by Rakib and members of his family. These allegedly include a 10-katha plot on Road 17 in Uttara Sector 11; a 5,000-square-foot apartment in the Lake Circus area of Kalabagan, reportedly valued at Tk 10.65 crore; an apartment on Road 27/C in Gulshan-2; and a 20-katha plot in Savar reportedly valued at Tk 1.5 crore.
It also alleged that Rakib purchased hundreds of bighas of land in his ancestral village between 2020 and 2023.
According to the complaint, his wife, Sabina Yasmin, allegedly holds fixed deposits worth Tk 10 crore at the Motijheel branch of Dutch-Bangla Bank and Tk 20 crore at Mutual Trust Bank. The complaint also alleged that she owns a 3,000-square-foot apartment in Shyamoli, another 3,000-square-foot apartment at House 67 on Road 11 in Banani, and a 10-katha plot purchased in 2022 in the Eastern Housing project.
The complaint further alleged that Tk 50 lakh was sent to Canada to cover the educational expenses of Rakib's elder son, Afzal, and that Tk 10 crore was allegedly transferred through hundi to purchase a house in Toronto.
It also alleged that Rakib's younger son, Sohel Rana, has a Tk 5 crore fixed deposit at the Gulshan branch of Jamuna Bank and owns a luxury car, an apartment and a petrol station in Melbourne, Australia.
The complaint further alleged that Rakib's younger daughter, Lubna Khatun, owns a 3,000-square-foot apartment at Flat 6/B of House 531 on Road 17 in Gulshan-2. Another daughter, Ayesha Akter Jhumur, was alleged to have a Tk 2 crore fixed deposit at the Banani branch of Premier Bank.
The complaint also alleged that around Tk 5 crore was spent on a single night for Jhumur's wedding after a hotel was rented for the event.
Responding to the allegations of bribery, Abdur Rakib said that no official at any level of the NBR could prove that he had taken even a single taka in bribes. He also said that if anyone could prove that he had accepted even Tk 1 in bribes from any businessman or business organisation, he would accept any punishment.
Meanwhile, according to the complaint, NBR Acting Chairman Ahsan Habib removed Mohammad Abdur Rakib from his position as Director General of the Central Intelligence Cell on August 20 and transferred him to the post of Commissioner of Taxes at Dhaka Tax Zone-8.
The allegations contained in the complaint have not been independently established. Any investigation by the relevant authorities would be necessary to determine whether the allegations are substantiated and whether any legal or administrative action is warranted.