GP denies, CID remains firm

POST TIME: 20 April, 2016 09:18:25 PM / LAST MODIFIED: 21 April, 2016 02:14:53 AM

ARREST OF GP STAFF OVER SIM �CLONING�

Staff Reporter

GP denies, CID remains firm

Grameenphone (GP), the country’s leading mobile phone operator, yesterday said that none of their employees is involved in siphoning off funds from customer accounts through alleged SIM cloning.
GP came up with the claim in response to a news report published in The Independent yesterday, headlined “Five GP staff among 11 arrested over SIM cloning’.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police, who unearthed the corruption and made the arrests, however, maintained its stance, saying that one of the arrestees was GP’s regular employee while four others worked for the mobile operator at its customer care centres, and that the GP must shoulder the responsibility.

Grameenphone, the largest telecom operator in Bangladesh, yesterday said none of the 11 people, who have been arrested recently from different areas of the country, were their employees.
“Grameenphone is ready to extend all necessary cooperation to the law enforcement agencies in their investigation. It is important to note that no GP employees were arrested on 18 April in this regard,” the operator said in a press statement.
“To the best of our knowledge some of the people arrested may have been employees of mobile retailer shops where selected services of GP are offered. There has been no instance of SIM cloning, as indicated in some media reports this morning (Wednesday),” it added.
GP also stated that in regards to any Mobile Financial Service (MFS) accounts, it is the MFS providers’ sole responsibility to implement necessary security protocols to protect its customers’ money.
When contacted regarding the GP response, Special Superintendent of Organised Crime Mirza Abdullah Hel Baki of CID, yesterday evening told The Independent that the GP must take the liability of its employees’ offence.
The police official said among the 11 arrested, one is permanent staff of GP while four others also work for the GP at their customer care centres.
Replying to a query whether GP can be held responsible for the arrestees’ alleged crime, Baki categorically said, “The GP must take the liability.”
Earlier on Wednesday, The Independent ran a report on the arrest of 11 alleged fraudsters — five of them employees of Grameenphone — in connection with the siphoning off funds from customer accounts.
The CID arrested them from different places, including Dhaka, Madaripur and Faridpur, CID’s additional deputy inspector general (DIG) Shah Alam said while talking to a group of journalists at the CID headquarters on Monday.
The Grameenphone employees were identified as Sajidullah Dastagir, Hasanur Rahman, Murad Hossain, Imran alias Miraj and Shyamal Baroi.
“We arrested the Grameenphone employees following a CID inquiry into a case filled with the Motijheel Police Station by Rafiqul Islam, a businessman,” Shah Alam said on Monday. CID inspector Ashrafuzzaman, investigating officer of the case, said the five Grameenphone employees worked in different customer care centres of the mobile operator.
CID made the arrests after one Rafiqul Islam, the owner of a mobile banking outlet, Rawa Enterprise, at Fakirapool, on January 31 this year had complained that an unidentified person(s) had withdrawn Tk 24,500 and Tk 5,000 in two separate fake transactions using his mobile number.
The CID official said the five employees of Grameenphone working in its customer care cells were arrested after a meticulous investigation proved their involvement in passing on mobile banking details to the fraudsters.
Past records of GP
GP was fined on two occasions in 2007 and 2008 for offering illegal VoIP services, compelling the company to pay Tk 418 crore to the telecoms regulator. Following the VoIP scam, GP top management had to go through a major reshuffle to retain its licence to operate in Bangladesh.
Allegations pending against GP
(1)According to a 2010 audit report initiated by the BTRC, GP has also not paid Tk 3,034 crore in taxes, and concealed certain information, including the number of its subscribers, to evade tax. The report was contested by the telecoms operator that led to litigation in the High Court. As per observation of the final verdict of the case, BTRC will now appoint a new audit firm to reassess tax evasion by GP.
(2)According to a report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) submitted in parliament, the government has incurred a loss of Tk 19.20 crore over three fiscal years by realising licence fees at a lower rate, instead of the fixed rate, while leasing out Bangladesh Railway (BR) lands to GP.
Under the Land Management Policy 2006, licence fees were fixed at Tk 335 and Tk 223 per sft of land respectively in divisional towns, and in district and other town areas. However, BR realised the licence fee from GP at Tk 16, Tk 8 and Tk 6 per sft of railway land in Pakshi area in the western region in the fiscal years 2007–08, 2008–09 and 2009–10. According to the audit report, this caused huge revenue losses — to the tune of Tk 19,20,46,139. Again the GP authorities have filed a writ petition with the High Court, challenging the new enhanced rates of licence fees. The issue is now pending.
GP ownership structure
GP is a joint venture between Telenor (55.8%), the largest telecommunications service provider in Norway having mobile phone operations in 12 other countries, and Grameen Telecom Corporation (34.2%), a non-profit organisation of Bangladesh. The other 10 per cent shares belong to retail and institutional investors.