Interim government’s Information Adviser Mahfuj Alam has edited a Facebook post where he initially hinted at corruption involving “several heavyweights of a new party.” The change came about an hour and a half after his original post early Tuesday morning.
At 2:51 am, Mahfuj Alam posted from his verified Facebook account, writing: “These days, as many are being exposed, they are targeting me. Several heavyweights from a new party are involved in this. Everything will come out. In a certain circle, almost everyone is corrupt, but one person refuses to touch money– how will they tolerate it?”
By 4:28 am, he edited this section, replacing “heavyweights from a new party” with “heavyweights from various parties,” and removed the final sentence about corruption.
In his original post, Mahfuj Alam detailed an incident where someone allegedly offered a bribe in exchange for facilitating a state television tender: “When lobbying came up, let me share an incident. A friend introduced someone to my brother. They promised a percentage from a BTV tender if approved, and would also help organise programmes abroad in July. When I learned about it, I stopped it. Even with good intentions, you cannot betray the state’s trust. Later, that tender was suspended.”
He also accused the individual of secretly recording their conversation and sending it to a journalist, who later chose not to make it public after hearing his side of the story.
In his first post, Mahfuj Alam hinted at a “new party’s heavyweights” conspiring against him. However, in his revised post, he referred instead to “heavyweights from several parties” and added: “Unnecessary controversy is being created over a few sentences, so I edited it. For some, July is a ladder for political mobility. Leaders from multiple parties are working against me/us. Now is the time to unite against rumor-mongers and opportunists.”
Mahfuj Alam also shared a Facebook post from his brother, Mahbub Alam, titled “Reply to False Allegations!!” In it, Mahbub dismissed rumours of financial irregularities circulating on social media. “A Facebook status is being used to spread false claims of financial misconduct against me. Here is my account statement for the past six months. My account remains active. Claims by Bony Amin and some media outlets are entirely false,” Mahbub wrote.
He further clarified: “I have never done any lobbying on behalf of my brother Mahfuj Alam, nor has he allowed anyone else to do so. We have no history of questionable financial dealings beyond our family businesses.”
Mahbub threatened legal action against Bony Amin, giving him 24 hours to apologize.
The controversy comes amid growing scrutiny of alleged corruption linked to student leaders involved in the July uprising.
On July 17, four leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement were arrested in Dhaka’s Gulshan area for allegedly extorting money from former MP Shammi Ahmed’s family. The incident has sparked criticism on social media, with former movement spokesperson Umama Fatema lamenting that the July uprising had “regrettably become a money-making machine.”
