An inquiry into allegations of financial mismanagement by state-owned Padma Oil PLC regarding its handling of US dollar proceeds from jet fuel sales remains unfinished more than five months after being ordered by the government. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division formed a three-member committee on 27 April to investigate the matter, initially mandating a report within five working days; however, the findings have yet to be formally submitted.

The committee, led by Irshad Reza, deputy secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, includes Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) Director (Planning) Asadul Haque and Deputy Secretary (Planning Section-1) SM Jakaria. According to Asadul, financial investigations are complex and time-consuming, involving the collection and review of extensive data from banks. He stated that he had submitted his portion of the investigation to the committee chairman, but as of early October, the full report remained pending, with Irshad reportedly unavailable for comment due to illness.

This probe was initiated following media reports questioning Padma Oil’s previous practice of converting US dollar earnings from foreign airlines into Bangladeshi taka before handing funds over to BPC. BPC then had to repurchase the dollars in the market to open letters of credit (LCs) for petroleum imports. This process reportedly subjected the state-owned corporation to foreign exchange losses estimated at up to Tk2 per dollar. In response, both Padma Oil and BPC have since established foreign currency accounts to avoid repeated currency conversions. Over the past months, proceeds from jet fuel sales have been deposited directly into these foreign currency accounts, and in October, BPC utilized these funds to open an import LC for petroleum products, marking a shift from the previous system.

Despite this operational change, the ongoing investigation aims to clarify several key points: whether the earlier currency handling practice caused actual financial losses, who authorized such procedures, compliance with existing regulations, and the reasons for the delayed adoption of the foreign currency accounts.

In a related development, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has begun investigating allegations against Padma Oil’s Chief Financial Officer and acting General Manager (Finance and Accounts), Kamchan Chandra Shome. The complaints question the legitimacy of Shome’s 2009 appointment under BPC recruitment policies and allege irregularities in his professional credentials. Additional accusations include the investment of over Tk300 crore of company funds in fixed deposits with various banks, with notable amounts remaining unrecovered, and the retention of company collections in special notice deposit accounts offering lower interest rates, potentially leading to financial losses. The allegations also reference a foreign trip undertaken by Shome in 2019, purportedly without prior approval from the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, and raise further questions regarding the management of dollar earnings from jet fuel sales. Attempts to reach Shome for comment were unsuccessful ahead of publication.