Not sure about this one but many many charities in Bangladesh are fraudulent.
In Bangladesh, in almost every mosque the Dan Baksho (donation box) money is no doubt abused by greedy moulvis and their cronies...
Not even getting into the madrasa and mazar "trade"...
No doubt about dan baksho and the "mazar" shirk factories being fraudulent.
However, there are significant differences between those small time fraud as opposed to this major fraud. I will list some of the key distinguishing factors below -
1. Involvement of state entities, including the military, which led to donors trusting the organization. Military simply does not get involved in activities without explicit directive from the government.
2. They have amassed millions of dollars equivalent amount of cash from institutional and individual donors. Individual donors from outside Bangladesh poured in money to fund their keystone program "One Taka Meal" - which is highly publicized in social media and attracted donors. This one hits close to home, as I know people, including myself who have donated to that program trusting it will reach the needy. But according to their own audited financial reports - their expenditure on One Taka Meal has actually been falling rapidly over the last couple of years, despite the fact that they are sitting on excess cash and charitable donations increased significantly during this period. On the other hand, in the same period - there is a significant increase in salary wages and honorarium. Below is an illustration -
3. Questionable involvement in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area. They have obtained properties in this highly sensitive and militarized area. In one famous case - they obtained a large amount of land some years ago from a local elderly Marma village chief as a grant for the purpose of building a school for Marma children. To date construction have not yet started. When Bidyanondo was confronted on this - they noted they have talked to the owner and will resolve the issue. But the Village chief is already dead and his family are now opening up in social media with the truth. According to them - they had been quiet to date because Bidyanondo threatened with lawsuit.
Why did Bidyanondo need to obtain land in CHT? Especially when it is still a potential conflict zone with high military presence. We all know the history of how Shanti Bahini was aided by India during their war against Bangladesh in the 80s. The fact that Indian HC donates computers and printers and personally visits their offices also raises question.
4. Finally - the most important distinction is the lack of mainstream media coverage and scrutiny. In fact - mainstream media, so called liberal pseudo intellectuals and celebrities are in complete unison to vehemently defend Bidyanondo and have already started pointing fingers at other Islamic charities as a means to deflect and divert the conversation. If any one is trying to question Bidyanondo, they are immediately being labelled as anti-Hindu. The Hindu phobia narrative is running rampant on social media - even though there are many Hindus who are actively criticizing and scrutinizing Bidyanondo's activities.
No charitable organization is beyond reproach no matter how much good they are appearing to do on the surface level.
The fact that not a single mainstream media organization has produced a single investigative report is astonishing. All the information that has been brought to light is through open source. If this was an Islamic charity, and you would have BBC and CNN joining in for the coverage of tracking down the funds. This silence is a direct result of government intervention.
All these factors raises several questions. Could the corrupt BAL members using Bidyanondo using it as a means of money laundering? Is there a greater geo-political game in play - for India sponsored Hindutva bhakts to spread their ideology through Bidyanondo? Are they acting as a listening post for RAW in CHT and Bangladesh military activities? Is this a ploy to divert Zakaat funds from legitimate charities and fill in the pockets of corrupt individuals?
Whatever the case - it is clear that Bidyanondo is a
"significantly" bigger fish than your average roadside donation box and mazar shirk fraudsters. And we should be paying close attention to it and expose the fraud.