Scandal and Speculation: Smart Technologies MD Refutes Corruption Allegations
Mohammad Zahirul Islam, Managing Director of Smart Technologies Limited, has denied rumors of fleeing the country amid corruption allegations, asserting that he is currently in Dhaka and continuing his routine office work at Zahir Tower in Agargaon.
Contrary to media reports that surfaced Monday night claiming he had left the country for Singapore under a cloud of controversy, Zahirul dismissed the news as “false” during a conversation with this correspondent on Tuesday morning.
Speaking around 10:30 am, he stated, “My company represents various global brands as a distributor in Bangladesh. Many of these brands have offices in Singapore, so I may visit there for business purposes. There is no restriction on my travel abroad. But as of now, I am here in Dhaka. I just had breakfast at home (in Gulshan) and am preparing to go to the office (in Shewrapara).”
As evidence, he shared a photo of himself standing in front of his residence. During the course of the conversation, he arrived at his Shewrapara office, where he mentioned he would be inaugurating Sony’s Warranty Service Center later in the day.
When asked about the Anti-Corruption Commission’s recent request for documents regarding a package under the "Capacity Building in Mobile Games and Application Development" project, he said, “We have already submitted all relevant documents. We were awarded a small portion of the project—less than 90 million taka—for supplying computers and hardware. Several other companies were also involved.”
He also rejected allegations that Smart Technologies, under his leadership and allegedly backed by Nafisa Kamal, daughter of former Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, misappropriated millions of dollars from a foreign-funded project under the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).
“These allegations are baseless. We have responded to all of them along with the necessary documentation,” Zahirul stated.
However, a media investigation recently reported that the $6.7 million project—intended to advance Bangladesh’s insurance sector—showed no visible improvement in financial safeguards. When asked to respond to this claim, he explained, “We were responsible for hardware support and setting up the data center. We executed the work properly and now have the project completion certificate in our possession.”
A project completion document signed by Mohammad Enamul Haque Bhuiyan, Director of IDRA (dated June 3, 2024), noted that the Goods Receiving Committee and Technohaven Company Limited jointly inspected and evaluated the implementation. According to the report, Smart Technologies Limited fulfilled its contractual obligations in supplying and installing the necessary equipment.
