The Anti-Corruption Commission has received a formal petition requesting a comprehensive investigation into former interim government adviser Asif Nazrul over an alleged 100 crore taka sub-registrar transfer bribery scheme.
Supreme Court lawyer M Sarwar Hossain lodged the official complaint on Wednesday, directly implicating Nazrul and his personal secretary, Md Masum. The submitted petition includes published media evidence detailing severe administrative irregularities and the systematic bypass of established civil service transfer policies within the Ministry of Law during the tenure of the interim administration.
The case files outline an unprecedented scale of administrative reshuffling over an eight-month period between October 2024 and April 2025. During this timeframe, at least 282 out of the 403 active sub-registrars under the Directorate of Registration were transferred. The petition claims that at least 200 of these officials secured postings to their preferred sub-registry offices by paying illicit fees ranging from 50 lakh to 60 lakh taka each, bringing the estimated total of the financial scheme to approximately 100 crore takas.
The complaint details a structural breakdown of civil service protocols. Existing transfer guidelines require sub-registry offices and personnel to be strictly categorised into ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ grades to ensure appropriate administrative postings. The petition alleges these policies were entirely ignored, noting that several lower-grade sub-registrars were appointed to higher-grade offices in exchange for bribes. Conversely, ‘A’ grade officers were systematically transferred to lower-grade facilities as a punitive measure for refusing to participate in the financial network.
Evidence submitted to the commission suggests that official transfer orders were routinely suspended when promised payments failed to materialise. The resulting administrative disruption was severe, with certain officials transferred up to four times within a six-month window. In extreme instances, personnel received fresh transfer orders just one day before they were scheduled to commence duties at their newly assigned offices.
As internal allegations of corruption intensified, the Ministry of Law issued a formal regulatory notice on 1 June. The directive explicitly warned that there was “no scope for financial transactions in the transfer or posting of district registrars and sub-registrars.”
The official notice further urged all concerned parties to “remain cautious against any offers, inducements or fraud by dishonest individuals or groups.” However, the petition highlights a critical timeline discrepancy, noting that the large-scale bribery and unprecedented volume of transfers had already concluded prior to the issuance of this government warning. Following the publication of the directive, no further transfer orders were processed.
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