Bangladesh Police Go After U.N. Official. The Issue: A Used Car.
By MAHER SATTAR MAY 11, two thousand seventeen
DHAKA, Bangladesh — The sale of a used car is developing into an unusual criminal case and a potential diplomatic sore point inbetween the United Nations and Bangladesh, whose government has frequently bristled at criticism from the international community.
At the heart of the case is an official named Stefan Priesner, an Austrian who headed the United Nations Development Program in Bangladesh from two thousand eight to 2012. When he left at the end of his tenure, Mr. Priesner sold his imported sport utility vehicle to a colleague.
But the customs police now say that he evaded $51,732 in taxes owed on the sale. The director general of the customs police, Moinul Khan, said on Thursday that the police were seeking authorization to charge Mr. Priesner with tax evasion and, because he received the proceeds through a foreign bank account, with money laundering.
The government’s real grudge may be not with Mr. Priesner but with the United Nations and other international institutions. The program Mr. Priesner headed worked on electoral reform in Bangladesh, where Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina won the two thousand fourteen election essentially by default after major opposition groups boycotted the vote. The next general election is scheduled for next year, and will very likely be closely scrutinized.
The customs police have also investigated officials from the World Bank and the International Labor Organization for tax evasion. The World Bank has spoken out about allegations of corruption involving infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, and the International Labor Organization has raised concerns about working conditions in the country’s garment industry.
Going after international officials in this way is “very unusual — such moves are fairly unheard-of,” said Manzoor Hasan, the executive director of the Center for Peace and Justice at BRAC University in Dhaka, the capital. “This will not create a conducive environment for us to deal with the U.N. and U.N. figures. It is such a petty matter, one wouldn’t think of doing something like this, which has much broader implications.”
The Bangladesh government has been provoking in the face of international criticism, and the climate for international organizations working in the country has worsened. A law enacted in October gives the government sweeping powers to shut down nonprofit groups that receive foreign funds.
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The United Nations Development Program said in a statement that Mr. Priesner had complied with all Bangladeshi laws in selling his car, and that it will cooperate with the country’s tax agency, the National Board of Revenue, known as the N.B.R.
“At the point of his reassignment, Mr. Priesner agreed to sell his car to Mr. Ashiqul Tareq, a staff member,” the statement said. “He secured the N.B.R.’s permission to do so, and executed a bill of sale with Mr. Tareq with the clear, formal and mutually signed agreement that confirmed Mr. Tareq would be solely responsible to pay all statutory dues.” The statement added that the relevant documents were collective with customs officials.
Mr. Khan of the customs police insisted on Thursday that the investigation of the car sale had not been influenced by politics.
“Why would there be politics in this?” he said. “The investigating committee has found evidence and introduced it.” Referring to the common practice of waiving customs duties on cars imported by senior foreign officials, he added, “He had been given a privilege, and he has misused it.”
Mr. Khan said that Mr. Priesner had earlier sent a letter of apology over the matter. “He told us sorry, that he made a mistake,” Mr. Khan said. But this was not an unintentional mistake, this was an intentional mistake.”
The police also plan to ask United Nations headquarters in Fresh York to take activity against Mr. Priesner, who is presently the organization’s resident coordinator in Uzbekistan, Mr. Khan said.
Nida Najar contributed reporting from Fresh Delhi
A version of this article shows up in print on May 12, 2017, on Page A8 of the Fresh York edition with the headline: U.N. Official Sells His Car; Strife Goes after In Bangladesh. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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