GumNaam
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leave us and China outta this one dude...this is your panama leaks. we have our own panama leaks goin' on.
Al Jazeera: Bangladesh’s Most Wanted Criminal Operating Network from Budapest
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Black_cats
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EasyNow
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People all over the world are suspicious of authority today, for good reason, but this documentary brings nothing new to the conversation.
There is definitely corruption, but accusers need to bring proof. What exactly is the evidence against the govt in this documentary? Some blowhard is recorded making big claims and the govt is now guilty automatically?
I have met many rich, supposedly influential Bangladeshis in my life (AH) and they all like to talk big about their contacts. When push comes to shove very, very few people can actually make things happen.
It reminds me of the famous case of a Bangladeshi businessman in London recently. He claimed he could get government planning permits if he was paid. It was all over the news, but no one automatically blamed the govt. An investigation was carried out and his claims were found to be complete rubbish, used to con naive customers.
There is definitely corruption, but accusers need to bring proof. What exactly is the evidence against the govt in this documentary? Some blowhard is recorded making big claims and the govt is now guilty automatically?
I have met many rich, supposedly influential Bangladeshis in my life (AH) and they all like to talk big about their contacts. When push comes to shove very, very few people can actually make things happen.
It reminds me of the famous case of a Bangladeshi businessman in London recently. He claimed he could get government planning permits if he was paid. It was all over the news, but no one automatically blamed the govt. An investigation was carried out and his claims were found to be complete rubbish, used to con naive customers.
Bilal9
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I will ask a few brothers to comment. We have discussed Fazle Noor Taposh (current mayor of Dhaka South City Corporation which is the equivalent rank of a minister in Bangladesh) here before,
and also his brother who is the head of Chhatra League (AL youth command). Both come from upper middle class educated backgrounds, Taposh himself is a Lincoln's Inn educated Barrister. His political trajectory seems ripe for the PM spot.
He is not an immediate acquaintance but my family knows his circumstances closely, he had a difficult childhood as both parents were gunned down when the brothers were toddlers.
I personally think (as I've said before) that of the new generation kids in the fold of the Awami League, none (such as Redwan, Putul or others) are as professionally qualified or educated to run AL leadership, than him.
Joy (Sheikh Hasina's son) certainly doesn't want it. And I would not insult Taposh by comparing uneducated people like Obaidul Quader with him, who is nothing more than a former thug and a goonda.
Taposh - though a dyed-in-the-wool AL stalwart, is our best hope, monder bhalo (Bengali saying for "best of the worst"), and someone sane you can deal with, within reason.
@Xerxes22, @leonblack08, @Bengal71 bhais what do you guys think?
Black_cats
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UN calls for Bangladesh army probe after Al Jazeera investigation
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit revealed Bangladesh bought Israeli-made surveillance technology used to monitor cell phones.
www.google.com
![General Aziz Ahmed visits UN peacekeepers [Bangladesh Army website]](/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fwww-aljazeera-com.cdn.ampproject.org%2Fi%2Fs%2Fwww.aljazeera.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F02%2Fchief-of-army-staff-visit-to-un-mission-in-congo-926643492.jpg%3Fcrop%3D445px%252C0px%252C966px%252C643px%26resize%3D770%252C513&hash=e772a300efd323db30879e6fa2ae71db "General Aziz Ahmed visits UN peacekeepers [Bangladesh Army website]")
General Aziz Ahmed visits UN peacekeepers [Bangladesh Army website]
By
Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
4 Feb 2021
The United Nations is calling for a full investigation into evidence of corruption and illegality involving the Bangladesh army, which was exposed during an investigation released by Al Jazeera on Monday.
The corruption involves Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff, General Aziz Ahmed, who is due to meet senior UN officials in New York next week.
In All the Prime Minister’s Men, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit revealed that Bangladesh’s military purchased sophisticated and highly intrusive mobile phone surveillance equipment from Israel, which Bangladesh military commanders claimed was “for one of the Army Contingents due to be deployed in the UN Peacekeeping Mission”.
A spokesperson for the UN said that this was not the case and that its peacekeepers do not operate “electronic equipment of the nature described in the Al Jazeera reporting”.
“Such equipment has not been deployed with Bangladeshi contingents in United Nations peacekeeping operations,” the UN spokesperson told Al Jazeera.
“We are aware of the reporting by Al Jazeera Investigations concerning allegations of corruption against senior officials in Bangladesh and the press release issued by the Ministry of Defence of Bangladesh. The allegation of corruption is a serious matter that should be investigated by the relevant authorities.
Bangladesh is the largest overall contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping missions, with more than 6,800 presently deployed in peacekeeping operations around the world.
IMSI-catchers
The surveillance equipment is called an “international mobile subscriber identity-catcher”, or IMSI-catcher. It is a tool that emulates cell towers to trick cellular devices into providing locations and data that is then captured by the device.
It can be used to track hundreds of attendees of demonstrations simultaneously, among other things.
The Bangladesh army said that the equipment was made in Hungary and not Israel, which the Muslim-majority country does not recognise.
Al Jazeera obtained the contract for the purchase, which deliberately concealed the fact that the manufacturer, PicSix, is an Israeli company. PicSix was set up by former Israeli intelligence agents and sent two experts to Hungary to train officers from the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), Bangladesh’ military intelligence service, on how to operate the equipment.
The contract, dated June 2018, was signed by the Directorate General Defense Purchase, the body charged with buying Bangladesh’s military supplies. The manufacturer was said to be PicSix Hungary, an entity that does not exist according to Hungarian company filings.
The contract lists the non-existing PicSix Ltd, Hungary as the manufacturer [Al Jazeera]Al Jazeera obtained covert recordings of a middleman, James Moloney, admitting the IMSI-catcher was Israeli made. Moloney, an Irish national, owns a company called Sovereign Systems, which is registered in Singapore, though he, himself is based in Bangkok.
Moloney is recorded saying that Sovereign Systems was a front for Picsix’s business in Asia. He also admitted that the surveillance technology is “from Israel, so we don’t advertise that technology. We are very careful about our public profile.
“I could never say the Bangladesh army is my customer. We cannot do that,” he added.
He described the technology as “very aggressive and intrusive. You don’t want the public to know that you’re using that equipment.”
Human rights violations
According to Eliot Bendinelli from Privacy International, a UK-based privacy watchdog, authorities can use it to collect information on people taking part in demonstrations.
“You are looking at everybody who is in the area and so you can keep investigating and having more people under surveillance at the same time,” Bendinelli said.
Bendinelli added, “If you know what people are saying, where they are going to meet up, what they are planning to do, you can know a lot of things. And then you have the power to act.”
Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli government does not scrutinise the human rights records of end-users. “For a country like Bangladesh, if they buy this equipment from the US or European Union, they have leverage on you when you use it for human rights violations and they might cancel the agreement,” he said.
“With Israel, it’s not like that, they don’t ask questions. They don’t care,” Mack said.
The knowledge that Israeli-made spyware could be used by Bangladesh to monitor opposition groups will spark further unease in a nation accused of multiple human rights violations.
According to Amnesty International, the government is involved in “unlawful killings and disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture”.
General Aziz Ahmed and his fugitive brother Haris attending the 2019 Dhaka wedding of Aziz’s son. [Al Jazeera]
All the Prime Minister’s Men
Months of undercover reporting revealed that the head of the army, General Aziz Ahmed, is aiding two of his brothers to escape prison sentences for murder, and that he ordered officers to help create a false identity for one who fled to Europe.
Aziz moved his fugitive brother, Haris Ahmed, to Hungary where he operates under the false identity, buying companies and property using kickbacks from military contracts and running extortion rackets with Bangladesh security forces. A second fugitive brother was in hiding in Malaysia.
General Ahmed is currently on a diplomatic visit to the United States where will meet UN officials to discuss Bangladesh’s current deployment of more than 6,000 troops for the UN in countries like Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Burundi. Aziz is due to meet the under-secretary-general for peace operations and other senior UN officials involved in peacekeeping operations.
The call for an inquiry by the UN will be a serious blow for the Bangladesh military.
The UN, whose military personnel are known as the Blue Helmets, spends nearly $7bn annually on its peacekeeping missions.
Bangladesh’s deployment generates significant funds for the Bangladeshi army and is prized as a mark of their international standing as a professional military force.
The concern expressed by the UN will put the Bangladesh Ministry of Defence under mounting pressure to defend General Aziz who has so far not commented himself on the investigation. The Bangladesh army public relations office described the investigation as “concocted and ill-intended”.
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit revealed Bangladesh bought Israeli-made surveillance technology used to monitor cell phones.
UN calls for Bangladesh army probe after Al Jazeera investigation
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit revealed Bangladesh bought Israeli-made surveillance tech used to monitor cell phones.
By
Al Jazeera Investigative Unit
4 Feb 2021
The United Nations is calling for a full investigation into evidence of corruption and illegality involving the Bangladesh army, which was exposed during an investigation released by Al Jazeera on Monday.
The corruption involves Bangladesh’s Chief of Army Staff, General Aziz Ahmed, who is due to meet senior UN officials in New York next week.
In All the Prime Minister’s Men, Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit revealed that Bangladesh’s military purchased sophisticated and highly intrusive mobile phone surveillance equipment from Israel, which Bangladesh military commanders claimed was “for one of the Army Contingents due to be deployed in the UN Peacekeeping Mission”.
A spokesperson for the UN said that this was not the case and that its peacekeepers do not operate “electronic equipment of the nature described in the Al Jazeera reporting”.
“Such equipment has not been deployed with Bangladeshi contingents in United Nations peacekeeping operations,” the UN spokesperson told Al Jazeera.
“We are aware of the reporting by Al Jazeera Investigations concerning allegations of corruption against senior officials in Bangladesh and the press release issued by the Ministry of Defence of Bangladesh. The allegation of corruption is a serious matter that should be investigated by the relevant authorities.
Bangladesh is the largest overall contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping missions, with more than 6,800 presently deployed in peacekeeping operations around the world.
IMSI-catchers
The surveillance equipment is called an “international mobile subscriber identity-catcher”, or IMSI-catcher. It is a tool that emulates cell towers to trick cellular devices into providing locations and data that is then captured by the device.
It can be used to track hundreds of attendees of demonstrations simultaneously, among other things.
The Bangladesh army said that the equipment was made in Hungary and not Israel, which the Muslim-majority country does not recognise.
Al Jazeera obtained the contract for the purchase, which deliberately concealed the fact that the manufacturer, PicSix, is an Israeli company. PicSix was set up by former Israeli intelligence agents and sent two experts to Hungary to train officers from the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), Bangladesh’ military intelligence service, on how to operate the equipment.
The contract, dated June 2018, was signed by the Directorate General Defense Purchase, the body charged with buying Bangladesh’s military supplies. The manufacturer was said to be PicSix Hungary, an entity that does not exist according to Hungarian company filings.
The contract lists the non-existing PicSix Ltd, Hungary as the manufacturer [Al Jazeera]Al Jazeera obtained covert recordings of a middleman, James Moloney, admitting the IMSI-catcher was Israeli made. Moloney, an Irish national, owns a company called Sovereign Systems, which is registered in Singapore, though he, himself is based in Bangkok.
Moloney is recorded saying that Sovereign Systems was a front for Picsix’s business in Asia. He also admitted that the surveillance technology is “from Israel, so we don’t advertise that technology. We are very careful about our public profile.
“I could never say the Bangladesh army is my customer. We cannot do that,” he added.
He described the technology as “very aggressive and intrusive. You don’t want the public to know that you’re using that equipment.”
Human rights violations
According to Eliot Bendinelli from Privacy International, a UK-based privacy watchdog, authorities can use it to collect information on people taking part in demonstrations.
“You are looking at everybody who is in the area and so you can keep investigating and having more people under surveillance at the same time,” Bendinelli said.
Bendinelli added, “If you know what people are saying, where they are going to meet up, what they are planning to do, you can know a lot of things. And then you have the power to act.”
Eitay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli government does not scrutinise the human rights records of end-users. “For a country like Bangladesh, if they buy this equipment from the US or European Union, they have leverage on you when you use it for human rights violations and they might cancel the agreement,” he said.
“With Israel, it’s not like that, they don’t ask questions. They don’t care,” Mack said.
The knowledge that Israeli-made spyware could be used by Bangladesh to monitor opposition groups will spark further unease in a nation accused of multiple human rights violations.
According to Amnesty International, the government is involved in “unlawful killings and disappearances, arbitrary arrest and detention, and torture”.
All the Prime Minister’s Men
Months of undercover reporting revealed that the head of the army, General Aziz Ahmed, is aiding two of his brothers to escape prison sentences for murder, and that he ordered officers to help create a false identity for one who fled to Europe.
Aziz moved his fugitive brother, Haris Ahmed, to Hungary where he operates under the false identity, buying companies and property using kickbacks from military contracts and running extortion rackets with Bangladesh security forces. A second fugitive brother was in hiding in Malaysia.
General Ahmed is currently on a diplomatic visit to the United States where will meet UN officials to discuss Bangladesh’s current deployment of more than 6,000 troops for the UN in countries like Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Burundi. Aziz is due to meet the under-secretary-general for peace operations and other senior UN officials involved in peacekeeping operations.
The call for an inquiry by the UN will be a serious blow for the Bangladesh military.
The UN, whose military personnel are known as the Blue Helmets, spends nearly $7bn annually on its peacekeeping missions.
Bangladesh’s deployment generates significant funds for the Bangladeshi army and is prized as a mark of their international standing as a professional military force.
The concern expressed by the UN will put the Bangladesh Ministry of Defence under mounting pressure to defend General Aziz who has so far not commented himself on the investigation. The Bangladesh army public relations office described the investigation as “concocted and ill-intended”.
Last edited:
Michael Corleone
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told you guys UN is getting into the pickle xD
some niggas wanted to fight me on facebook about this
some niggas wanted to fight me on facebook about this
Al-zakir
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Disey Aziz-er lungir gira khuila.
Watch how Hasina drops these two goondas like a Hot Potato.
She might even drop Aziz as Army Chief, rumors were rife even before this.
Three brothers to Canada (Begumpara) - here we come !!
E gur surat chamaar muchir matan. Dheck te chawkidar laag e.
VikingRaider
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Don't be over excited. If UN want to poke noes that surely isn't good thing. Bangladesh is doing well in every section now why such interfere of UN ?
Is it actually UN or pressure from USA alliance to force Bangladesh to join their block instead of Chinese block?
Bangladesh will be very very crucial if any war triggers at South China sea.
The bay of Bengal is very important for both China and westerns.
Now I am convinced that the AlJajeera report was a part of conspiracy against Bangladesh using sophisticated technology.
I saw many Bangladeshi are troling in FB by considering AlJajeera as gospel.
I am convinced now that the real enemy of Bangladesh is its own freak population.
However in the end unwanted interfere of UN will just create problem in Bangladesh, and in order to survive it can choose military rule like Myanmar. Well in order to save Bangladesh from conspiracy military have this right to do so.
Ps : Anyone can beat me now , as I opposed the lovers of democracy! So beat me and practice pure democracy.
But I will stick on my position and that is entire AlJajeera report was a conspiracy against Bangladesh armed forces aka Bangladesh herself.
Black_cats
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It’s all because of ISPR’s irresponsible statement that the surveillance equipment was meant for a UN peace keeping mission. Here UN just ruled that out and indicated Bangladesh doesn’t use any such equipment at the UN peace keeping mission and asked for investigation.
Black_cats
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Al Jazeera report
BNP seeks explanation from govt
UNB
Dhaka
Published: 04 Feb 2021, 05:48
Ruhul Kabir RizviFile photo
Expressing deep concern over the report aired by Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera on Bangladesh, de facto opposition BNP has sought an ‘acceptable and credible’ explanation from the government about it.
BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the demand through a statement on Thursday.
“Al Jazeera broadcast a report titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ on 1 February, which embarrassed and disturbed the people of Bangladesh. Along with the people, BNP is also deeply worried over the matter,” the statement reads.
It alleged that the government has tried to refute the report only through its statement and political rhetoric instead of giving people a clear explanation about each of the allegations raised in the report. “It has made people more concerned and deepened their anxiety over the allegations.”
The statement further said, “Like the country’s people, BNP is also waiting to get an acceptable and credible explanation from the government on every issue mentioned in the report.”
The foreign ministry in a statement termed the Al Jazeera report “All the Prime Minister’s Men” as “false, defamatory and a politically motivated smear campaign.
“The report is nothing more than a misleading series of innuendos and insinuations in what is apparently a politically motivated smear campaign by notorious individuals associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami extremist group, which has been opposing the progressive and secular principles of the Bangladesh since its birth as an independent nation in 1971,” the statement said.
Bangladesh Army headquarters also strongly denounced Al Jazeera’s investigative report, saying it is part of a move to break the harmony among different government organs.
Awami League general secretary and road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader also described the report as a ‘motivated propaganda’ while foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said the government is looking into legal action against Al Jazeera for “spreading misinformation”.
en.prothomalo.com
BNP seeks explanation from govt
UNB
Dhaka
Published: 04 Feb 2021, 05:48
Ruhul Kabir RizviFile photo
Expressing deep concern over the report aired by Qatar-based news channel Al Jazeera on Bangladesh, de facto opposition BNP has sought an ‘acceptable and credible’ explanation from the government about it.
BNP senior joint secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi made the demand through a statement on Thursday.
“Al Jazeera broadcast a report titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ on 1 February, which embarrassed and disturbed the people of Bangladesh. Along with the people, BNP is also deeply worried over the matter,” the statement reads.
It alleged that the government has tried to refute the report only through its statement and political rhetoric instead of giving people a clear explanation about each of the allegations raised in the report. “It has made people more concerned and deepened their anxiety over the allegations.”
The statement further said, “Like the country’s people, BNP is also waiting to get an acceptable and credible explanation from the government on every issue mentioned in the report.”
The foreign ministry in a statement termed the Al Jazeera report “All the Prime Minister’s Men” as “false, defamatory and a politically motivated smear campaign.
“The report is nothing more than a misleading series of innuendos and insinuations in what is apparently a politically motivated smear campaign by notorious individuals associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami extremist group, which has been opposing the progressive and secular principles of the Bangladesh since its birth as an independent nation in 1971,” the statement said.
Bangladesh Army headquarters also strongly denounced Al Jazeera’s investigative report, saying it is part of a move to break the harmony among different government organs.
Awami League general secretary and road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader also described the report as a ‘motivated propaganda’ while foreign minister AK Abdul Momen said the government is looking into legal action against Al Jazeera for “spreading misinformation”.
BNP seeks explanation from govt
BNP alleged that the government has tried to refute the report only through its statements and political rhetoric instead of giving people a clear explanation about each of the allegations raised in the report
en.prothomalo.com
Michael Corleone
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We can’t just ignore Aziz and his families sins, Save Bangladesh? From what? UN will not intervene militarily. Aziz has disgraced the military, there’s no turning from that. Hasina has employed aziz in chief position skipping a couple of senior generals THERES no way around it. It’s funny how you’re falling into this conspiracy theory crowd.
i was convinced after I saw tasneem Khalil in the video. He investigated Quader and wrote for netra a couple of years ago. Govt could ignore netra but aljazeera is a bigger force.
govt first denies buying Israeli stuff then admits to buying surveillance for UN... they’re getting caught in their own web of lies.
Unless govt can be transparent about Aziz’s brothers and him and defend itself with evidence... there’s no chance of winning over public.
As far as this fiasco goes... this will not last, everyone will forget or ignore as usual, nobody wants to ruin their lives. People would rather immigrate elsewhere thanrisk losing everything in bd because they protested against the govt.
Fucked up big time. 100% on aziz’s order
I remember an army friend telling me about his brother who was moving with a convoy from somewhere towards Dhaka, his brother decided to change predetermined routes because of traffic jam but by the time he was near Dhaka they stopped him and took him to cantonment thinking he was involved in coup attempt. There’s no trust within the army itself
VikingRaider
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Okay , if only Aziz and few others are the target and not entire military then that's fine , I have no headache .
If BAL govt is in trouble I don't care. I just want the guaranty that no one from Zia family involve again in Bangladesh politics, (because even this Aziz is way better than them) and that's enough for me.
Now let's wait and see what's next!
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Black_cats
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Obviously Bangladesh Army is dragged into it by the ISPR statement. Earlier it was Aziz and his brothers and violation of rules by purchasing the surveillance equipment which was mostly an internal matter of Bangladesh.
Hasina Bibi should boycott the UN and withdraw BD membership to protest the illegal UN activities against her beloved country's civilian and military leaders. The UN must be composed of a group of RAZAKARs who do not trust our Hasina Bibi and her military Chief.
Last edited:
Michael Corleone
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Too bad, military has been throughly vetted since the mutiny. Only those who have loyalty of awami league can survive. Man lads are leaving because they don’t want to do the dirty work.
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