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Illegal Voip exchanges continue
2007-04-18
Helal Khan started illegal Voip business since 1996 by renting a office space at Dhaka’s Bijoy Nagar area. Each year, he cashed more than TK. 90-100 million from this business, evading huge amount of government revenue. Only during 1996-2001 periods, Helal Khan pocketed more than TK. 500 million from this illegal business.
But, in 2001, after BNP-Jamaat Coalition formed the government, Khan got into the most advantageous position as he holds the post of International Affairs Secretary in BNP’s Cultural Wing – Jasas. Shrewd Helal managed to get corrupt Harris Chowdhury (political secretary to the former Prime Minister) and Babul Ahmed (General Secretary of the Cultural Wing of BNP) in his illegal Voip business and immediately established more than seven call centers in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. Moreover, Helal Khan and Babul Ahmed were using VIP protocol at Zia International Airport during foreign tours and were engaged in smuggling in unauthorized Voip equipment without paying taxes. During this period, Helal, along with other influential figures in BNP were also engaged in various illegal activities, such as drug trafficking, money laundering etc.
According to several information, illegal Voip racket deceived country’s Bangladesh telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) from a total revenue earnings of over 9 billion dollars since 1996. Alone Helal Khan – Harris Chowdhury Syndicate got a significant stake of such illegal business by pocketing over US$ 1 billion by operating a large number of illegal Voip exchanges in different parts of Bangladesh. Moreover, Helal Khan was the key player in helping corrupt Harris Chowdhury is trafficking illegally earned millions of Taka from Bangladesh to a number of countries in the western destinations. Chowdhury has bought several real estates in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates as well made significant investments in restaurant businesses abroad. Due to personal influence of Harris Chowdhury, Helal Khan enjoyed VIP protocol at Zia International Airport during all of his foreign trips. It is alleged that, huge amount of foreign currency were trafficked by Khan in suite cases during past five year of BNP-Jamaat rule.
It was earlier reported that, Anti Corruption Commission is set to take necessary legal initiatives to recover looted TK. 63,000 crore from the illegal Voip operators in Bangladesh. Moreover, the government is likely to impose heavy financial penalties and regulatory punishment on mobile phone companies for their involvement in illegal VoIP operation which has deprived the nation of huge tax and revenue for several years, telecoms ministry sources said. Beginning from January, the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) has busted several dozen illegal VoIP operations and some of these surprisingly lead directly or indirectly to GrameenPhone (GP), Aktel and Banglalink. Further investigations are going on against other phone companies. Although the government has already filed cases against the Grameen Phone (a company owned by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammed Yunus), Aktel and Banglalink for illegal VoIP operations, none of the top figures of these companies had been arrested yet. Moreover, according to existing law, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of any such companies should be main the main accused in such cases for operating illegal Voip exchanges, mysteriously Professor Yunus’ name did not come although he is the CEO of Grameen Phone. Critics say, Nobel Prize gave ‘special privilege’ to Yunus in continuing his old-styled financial notoriety.
According to press reports, the illegal Voip operations have deprived the national exchequer of an estimated annual overseas call revenue and tax amounting to over TK 7,000 crore (US$ 1 billion) each year.
According to Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) sources, the case against the Professor Yunus’ Grameen Phone (GP) was filed on February 12 after the authorities had busted an indoor base station of the company and special SIM cards at Moghbazar in the capital. The GP authorities have denied responsibility for running any illegal VoIP through this system but the RAB has filed a case saying that evidence of GP's involvement in this operation is overwhelming. Mysteriously, RAB was instructed not to include Yunus in the list of alleged culprits in the case they filed against GP.
A RAB team last month met Banglalink authorities and showed them the evidence it gathered on the company's illegal Voip operation. Banglalink authorities admitted that illegal VoIP operators used their equipment for such operations in the past but stopped it in January. They claimed that the company never directly ran any VoIP operation. The RAB filed a case soon afterwards but again did not arrest any of the members of the company in this regard.
Aktel's massive illegal VoIP operation was busted late last month in a RAB raid at its office in Gulshan. The RAB recovered huge equipment along with financial records which indicate that Aktel was earning between TK 1 billion and TK 1.8 billion a year from this operation. A case was filed against Aktel and again with no arrests.
Local English newspaper The Daily Star quoting RAB source said, investigators were now filing a report along with a set of suggestions on what the government should do about the mobile phone companies involved in the illegal operation.
An official of the telecoms ministry said, "The government should at first calculate how much tax has been evaded and how much the BTTB was deprived of its revenue from illegal VoIP operations. Mobile phone companies would accordingly pay this money to the national exchequer."
He added, "Then the phone companies should be penalized in some ways for being involved in illegal activities... They may be additionally warned of cancellation of licenses if they are found engaged in illegal activities in future."
Insiders said the country's first illegal VoIP operation was introduced in 1996 by film actor Helal Khan, whose massive establishment was busted on 26th December last year. A section of unscrupulous BTTB staffs helped him in this illegal business. Helal Khan was operating this illegal business with two influential members of BNP named Harris Chowdhury and Babul Ahmed
In 1998, Grameen Phone, having strong political clout, started VoIP operation in full swing and concentrated fully on this operation till recent times.
Banglalink's package aimed at VoIP operation was introduced in late 2004. Sources said the company used to rent out E1 switches and set Base-station Transceiver (BTS) to help operators run VoIP.
Aktel started such operation in October 2005 as it saw that "all mobile companies were involved in it," said one source, adding the company ran its own operation.
Initial illegal VoIP set-ups were made in connivance with a section of unscrupulous BTTB employees and officials. "They used to provide the operators with BTTB's E1 circuits for call termination. Many such BTTB E1 circuits in the capital's Gulshan area are still in operation," the source said.
"BTTB's unscrupulous staffs rented out huge E1 circuits under Gazipur exchange in 2003. There are many set-ups there," he pointed out. RAB investigators also admitted this.
Since illegal VoIP operation involved billions of taka, bribery and illegal influence on officials and policymakers were almost an open secret.
"Bribery ranged from cash to foreign trips or even Malaysian second home immigration schemes, and illegal VoIP operators offered all this to officials and policymakers to delay VoIP licensing or facilitate their illegal operation," said an insider.
"There are about 150,000 people involved in illegal VoIP operation outside mobile phone companies. About 5,000 of them made huge money which remains black ... for instance, I know a 35-year old man who has more than TK 300 million in his accounts."
According to information, the first unearthed Voip exchange owned by actor and leader of BNP’s cultural wing Helal Khan earned more than TK. 30 million per month, while, major portion of such illegally earned money were sent abroad through illegal channels. Khan has acquired significant volume of properties in different countries, including United States with this illegally cashed money.
Although his illegal Voip outlet at Dhaka’s Bangla Motor area was already crashed by RAB, Helal Khan is continuing to operate at least 12 more Voip exchanges in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet area. In the capital, he has recently established a new Voip exchange at the office premises of his film distribution company. Khan is also setting a medium ranged Voip exchange at city’s Patuatuli area under the cover of a music company.
Meanwhile, stories of tax evasion by Helal Khan in various other sectors are also getting published. According to a recent report in a vernacular weekly, Helal’s company Central Music and Video Limited evaded more than TK. 30 million by not paying Value Added Tax (VAT) and other taxes to the government, while operating one of the most profitable music companies in Bangladesh. An official of Audit Department, Sirajul Islam, who illegally works with Helal Khan’s Central Music and Video Limited as full-time accountant, helped Khan in evading such huge amount of taxes, while managing his (Siraj’s) colleagues at the taxation department.
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