Zahid Maleque accused of embezzling billions in vaccine procurement during COVID-19 crisis

During Zahid Maleque’s tenure as Bangladesh’s health minister, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global crisis. While millions suffered, Maleque allegedly took advantage of the situation, benefiting from widespread corruption in the vaccine procurement process. Following claims that he, along with others, embezzled around Tk 22,000 crore in vaccine funds, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched an investigation, which has found the allegations to be credible.

In December 2021, Bangladesh signed a deal with India’s Serum Institute to purchase 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, with Beximco Pharmaceuticals, owned by Salman F. Rahman, acting as a supplier. The procurement process was criticized for being opaque and bypassing government rules, with accusations that Beximco made excessive profits from the deal, leading to higher prices for the vaccines.

Additional corruption was alleged in the pricing of COVID-19 tests, which were deemed excessively expensive. The complaint also pointed out missed opportunities to obtain vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for free, with Bangladesh instead paying higher prices for Chinese vaccines. Maleque was accused of blocking other companies from importing vaccines and obstructing local vaccine production to maintain a monopoly, putting profit over public welfare.