BTRC Targets Salman Family in Tk 5.68 Billion Telecom Fund Fraud Case
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has filed a case with Gulshan Police Station against 27 individuals, including members of the executive committee of the International Gateway (IGW) Operators Forum (IOF) and four members of the Salman family, over allegations of embezzling Tk 5.68 billion from the Market Development Fund (MDF) collected for network development.
The case, filed by BTRC Senior Assistant Director Toufiq-ul-Alam on Thursday afternoon, September 18, was recorded under case number 37. It accuses Salman F Rahman, his elder brother Sohel Rahman, his son Shayan Rahman, IOF Vice President Abdus Salam, and Dohatec Chairman A K M Shamsuddoha, among others, of transferring the MDF funds from IOF’s IFIC Bank account to that of Beximco Computers Limited.
The charges have been brought under Sections 73, 74, and 76 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001 (amended in 2010) and Sections 420 and 406 of the Penal Code, 1860. The case is currently being investigated by Sub-Inspector Saiful Islam of Gulshan Police Station.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), after the formation of the IGW Operators Forum, the accused violated licensing conditions, contractual obligations, and engaged in fraudulent misappropriation of funds.
The allegations state that until December 2024, Tk 6.31 billion was deposited in the MDF under the title of "Market Development Expense." More than 95 percent of these funds were spent under the name of Beximco Computers Limited, despite the company not being listed as an IGW licensee by BTRC. Of this, over Tk 6.25 billion was shown as expenses, nearly all of which was transferred into Beximco Computers’ account, a company directly owned by Salman F Rahman.
Between 2020 and 2025, funds were transferred 249 times to Beximco Computers Limited’s account, 25 times to Digicon’s account, 42 times to Global Voice Telecom’s account, once to Unique Infoway’s account, and 25 times to Bangla Trac Communications’ account, according to the case records.
