"The commission has decided to investigate allegations that an unscrupulous syndicate, including Salman F Rahman, Beximco Pharma Ltd, and others, misappropriated Tk 220 billion in state funds under the guise of COVID-19 vaccine procurement," he said. Had the government directly purchased from Serum, it could have saved costs and secured an additional 6.8 million doses. Beximco Pharma allegedly netted a profit of Tk 77 per dose after importing 70 million doses at a market price of Tk 425 per dose, which cost the government around Tk 2.97 billion. Irregularities were also flagged in the procurement of 3.15 million doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine. It further alleges that Bangladesh's locally developed COVID-19 vaccine, Bangavax, faced repeated red tapes in securing approval.

Source: bd News24 March 17, 2025 15:37 UTC