BNP-Jamaat regime: Denmark withdrew Tk 264 crore aid for endless corruption

The BNP-Jamaat alliance started plundering countless money from the country's every sector including energy, power, climate, telecommunication, and shipping since they came to power in 2001. Denmark withdrew Tk 264 crores (USD 45.5 million) from the development of Bangladesh's shipping sector in 2002 due to the corruption of Khaleda Zia's shipping minister Akbar Hossain. Peter Lysbolt Hansen, the undersecretary in Denmark’s foreign ministry, brought the corruption allegation at a press briefing at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka. It was the first time in Denmark's history to withdraw aid from a country.

The Prothom Alo carried out the report on this serious corruption on April 4, 2002. The Under Secretary Peter Lysbolt said, “The minister himself tendered four ferries in a highly corrupt process. He is having a meeting with his friend for government work at the embassy. And it goes against any state law. The Danish Embassy has concrete evidence of the Minister's corruption. Due to this serious corruption, the Danish government has no other option but to withdraw all aid.”

Meanwhile, this Danish diplomat said to the government, "We are giving a lot of money for the improvement of drinking water and the sanitation system of Bangladesh. But you are misusing these. As diplomats, we have a responsibility to the Danish taxpayers for the financial assistance that the Danish government is providing. Please tell us, what will we answer to the people of our country?”