Background: On April 20, 2019, an online media outlet named Poriborton.com carried an article in Bangla language alleging that a CARE staff member is involved with illegal drug trade. The article relied on anonymous sources to accuse him of stocking drugs in Rohingya camps and using different NGO vehicles of the camps to transport drug to different places of Bangladesh. The report also claims that he is on the Bangladesh Government Home Ministry Watch list for drug traders.
CARE Bangladesh would like to inform all concerned that we are aware of the Poriborton.com article alleging involvement of a CARE Staff member in unlawful activities in Cox’s Bazaar. We have taken this issue very seriously and immediately issued a public statement on our website and FaceBook page.
CARE Bangladesh has further looked into the situation by reaching out to local authorities and intelligence agencies. We did not find any substantive information and/or evidence that the alleged staff was engaged in any drug dealing or used any CARE resources (e.g. office, vehicles) to conduct any unlawful operation.
We checked with the concerned authorities and were informed that our staff member’s name is not on the Bangladesh Government’s Home Ministry Watch list for drug traders. We also reviewed the staff member’s records and movements that show he rarely uses official vehicles or has access to warehouses and offices. Moreover, CARE Bangladesh is in contact with relevant law enforcement authorities to seek further input from them.
CARE Bangladesh would like to assure all concerned that prior to recruiting any employee, as standard practice, CARE conducts a Bridger Check (an enhanced due diligence procedure, that searches international data bases for links to terror related offences and money laundering) and also a Reference Check with previous supervisors/employers. The HRIS (Human Resource Information System) of CARE Bangladesh is also used to check whether the candidate is a former staff and if s/he had any negative record in the system. The staff member in question also went through the same three processes and we did not encounter any negative report/feedback.
CARE would like to underline that all over the world, CARE is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards among all its employees, and expects all staff to act in a manner consistent with the core values of respect, integrity, commitment and excellence while carrying out their organizational responsibilities. CARE has zero tolerance policy for fraud, forgery, discrimination, misconduct, embezzlement, sexual harassment, misappropriation and unfair actions.
About CARE: CARE is one of the world's leading international humanitarian and developmentorganizations, committed to helping people in poor communities improve their lives and alleviate poverty. Founded in 1945, CARE has been active in Bangladesh since 1949. CARE works globally across 95 countries to fight global poverty and marginalization. In CARE, we put women and girls at the center of our work because we know that we cannot overcome poverty until all people have equal rights and opportunities.
For any media query, please communicate with CARE Bangladesh’s Communications and PR Coordinator, Hillol Sobhan @ Hillol.Sobhan@care.org
