Padma Bridge graft scandal

The Padma Bridge graft scandal was a political scandal in Bangladesh in 2016 and 2017, involving the Bangladesh Awami League and the Padma Bridge, a 6.15-kilometer (3.82 mi) road-rail bridge across the Padma River and Bangladesh's longest bridge.

The World Bank were to have financed the project with ৳11,367 crore (US$1.2 billion) of credit, but they pulled out citing corruption concerns, specifically that Canadian construction company SNC-Lavalin had bribed a Bangladeshi official in exchange for a construction contract.[1]

Two SNC-Lavalin executives were charged in Canada, but after the court excluded wiretap evidence the prosecution withdrew and the court dismissed the case.[2][3]

  1. ^ "World Bank cancels Bangladesh bridge loan over corruption". BBC News. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Canada court finds no proof of Padma bridge bribery conspiracy". The Daily Star. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Did a Canada Court Really Clear Bangladesh Officials of Corruption?". thewire.in. Retrieved 1 January 2022.