Padma Bridge scam: Dissecting fact from fiction

Photo: STAR

I am not a journalist, let alone an investigative one. Yet, a number of factors prompted me to write this piece. Firstly, the issue is an important one related to economic growth and international image of the country whose pride and prosperity is so dear to my heart. Secondly, the Canadian engineering giant which is involved in the deal is situated practically in my backyard. Thirdly, many of my former students are working in the prestigious company.. Fourthly, one of the two indicted persons, who claimed to have known me since the year 2000 when I was the President of Bangladeshi Engineering Association of Ontario, currently lives a few minutes drive from my residence. And most importantly, there were numerous reports and analyses in Bangladeshi media, most of which were more of fiction rather than objective journalism. Many Bangladeshi journalists wrote their stories based on hearsay, many of which are devoid of truth. Paradoxically, in some reports, the bribe amount in the so-called (unpaid) bribe far exceeded the worth of the failed contract bid submitted by SNC-Lavalin. Last month, one English language weekly reported that the two indicted men are "languishing in jail." I was informed about the report by a friend from outside Canada while I was in a coffee shop with one of the indicted persons. The TV Channel i of Bangladesh broadcast similar news on September 6, 2012 in its nightly news. Even The Daily Star billed (and quoted extensively) by all Canadian newspapers and agencies as "the largest English daily in Bangladesh," reported, on June 26, that RCMP "arrested former chief executive Pierre Duhaime, along with Bangladeshi-born Canadian citizen Ismail Hossain and Indian-born Canadian citizen Ramesh." But the fact is that SNC-Lavalin CEO Pierre Duhaime was never in the scene vis-à-vis the Padama Bridge project, let alone getting arrested. He resigned from the company last March amid allegations he allowed $56 million payments to "agents" in Libya and Tunisia on construction contracts. So, objective journalism became the primary casualty in the fiction. Three individuals from SNC-Lavalin whose names appeared in the news media are: Kevin Wallace, Ramesh Shah and Mohammad Ismail. Kevin Wallace, a former vice president and general manager, who left the company in October 2011 to become the president and general manager of Candu Energy; Ramesh Shah, a former vice president of International Project Division, who was let go from the company in June 2011 and is currently a financial consultant elsewhere; and Mohammad Ismail, who joined the company in 2004 as a material engineer and became its director, International Projects. Ismail left the company in May 2011, and has been CEO of his own consulting company -- ASCO Global Inc.-- since then. In early 2011, Ismail along with Kevin Wallace visited Bangladesh and met a number of Bangladesh government officials and other people related to the Padma Bridge project. While in Dhaka, he used to inform Ramesh Shah on regular basis, updating their discussions with the stakeholders in Bangladesh. My source corroborated the statement in this regard made by the ACC chief as reported in bdnews24.com (July 1) that "the World Bank had not given anything except for the list of probable corrupt individuals," as inscribed in Ramesh's diary. In fact, in my conversations with RCMP, its spokesperson did not intend to disclose any more than this at that time, since the matter is still under investigation. It was all quiet on this front since SNC's failed bid to secure contract to act as engineer for the Bangladesh government, supervising the construction of contractors which was worth C$10 million as reported by Reuters (June 25) while the former minister Syed Abul Hossain mentioned the amount as $37 million in his deposition to ACC on September 3. In response to my query, SNC-Lavalin spokeswoman Senior Vice-President, Global Corporate Communications, Leslie Quinton wrote to me (September 9), and I quote: "Our portion, had the project been awarded, would have been minimal since the mandate was to be the client's engineer." While my close source at SNC indicated the number as $45 million, Leslie Quinton in a follow up e-mail wrote to me: "I did not understand it to be of that magnitude." It was not until September 3, 2011, that it was reported that RCMP had initiated an investigation into the company regarding alleged corruption in the bridge project in Bangladesh following a request by the World Bank, and had executed several raids in that company's Oakville office. In the process of investigation the RCMP's anti-corruption team arrested Ramesh Shah and Mohammad Ismail on February 29, but the news did not emerge until (June 24). An incorrect version of their names (Ramesh Saha and Ismail Hossain) appeared in a Bangladeshi newspaper. Although no money changed hands, they were formally charged jointly on April 11 with one count under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Incidentally, in June last year, Niko Resources, based in Calgary, was fined C$9.5 million under CFPO after pleading guilty to bribing a Bangladeshi minister. The duo are on bail and have made several court appearances, the latest of which was on June 25, when the court set a hearing for April 8-19, 2013 to determine if there is enough evidence to warrant a trial. On April 2, SNC-Lavalin spokeswoman Leslie Quinton said the company has not been charged and she is not aware if other former employees face charges or have left SNC-Lavalin in relation to issues in Bangladesh. The failed bid was supposedly for $45 million, merely 3.75% of WB's share of $1.2 billion cancelled loan. Mohammad Ismail was a technical director of the company with no monetary disbursing authority whatsoever while Ramesh Shah, although a VP, could hardly commit any illegal international disbursement of this sort without the approval of the highest authority of the multi-billion dollar engineering giant as allegedly happened in acquiring projects in Libya and Tunisia. So the obvious hindsight leads one to ask the million dollar question: who made the duo the scapegoats to serve whose interest?

The writer is the Convener of the Canadian Committee for Human Rights and Democracy in Bangladesh.