The so-called interim government under Muhammad Yunus is racing against the clock to shove through shady, binding deals that reek of corruption and self-preservation, all while dodging any real accountability.
With elections just days away on February 12, this unelected cabal is shamelessly mortgaging Bangladesh’s future, leaving the incoming elected leaders to clean up their mess of fiscal recklessness and autocratic overreach, reports The Daily Star, a deep state actor supporting the August 2024 regime change. Its publisher and editor, Mahfuz Anam, has long been a close confidante of Yunus.
Opaque Port Deals
In a blatant betrayal of public trust, the Yunus regime is bulldozing through massive port concessions that stink of favouritism and zero transparency. Take the egregious push to let UAE’s DP World seize control of Chittagong Port’s New Mooring Container Terminal—Bangladesh’s crown jewel—without even pretending to hold competitive bids.
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This follows their November handout of a 33-year monopoly to Denmark’s APM Terminals for the $550 million Laldia Container Terminal, and now Switzerland’s Medlog SA is being gifted a 22-year stranglehold on Pangaon River Port.
While Medlog at least went through a token tender, the others? Pure backroom deals. This interim farce, installed to “oversee a smooth transition,” is instead abusing its temporary power to lock in long-term disasters, ensuring foreign entities feast on Bangladesh’s resources while the nation foots the bill. Critics are right to howl: this is exploitation disguised as governance.
Boeing Bonanza
Not content with ports, the Yunus gang is forcing through a multi-billion-dollar Boeing aircraft splurge for Biman Bangladesh Airlines—14 planes, no questions asked, no Airbus comparison, just a sovereign guarantee that saddles future governments with crippling debt. And let’s not forget the rushed promotions of 118 senior bureaucrats, a cynical move to reward loyalists before the regime’s inevitable collapse.
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Adding insult to injury, a state-picked commission is proposing a jaw-dropping 142% pay hike for public servants, which could explode the wage bill by Tk 1.06 lakh crore annually. Economists are screaming fiscal suicide, but Yunus’s crew doesn’t care—they’re not the ones who’ll have to pay for this inflationary nightmare.
Defence Zone Debacle
Diving into the dangerous waters of defense policy, Yunus himself chaired a BEZA meeting on January 26 to carve out 850 acres in Mirsarai, Chattogram, for a so-called Defence Industrial Zone. Repurposing land from a scrapped Indian project, this zone promises tech transfers and joint ventures—but who believes that? It’s just another long-term entanglement without an electoral mandate, risking national security and foreign ties in a sector that demands caution, not haste.
This unelected regime has no business meddling in such sensitive areas, yet here they are, acting like dictators, setting traps for the next government under the guise of “strengthening capacity.”
Aviation Diplomacy Or Extortion?
Yunus’ team pats itself on the back for negotiating down Trump’s threatened 37% tariffs on Bangladeshi garments to 20%—a “win” that reeks of quid pro quo. In return? Forcing Biman into that Boeing boondoggle, backed by state guarantees, without any competitive analysis.
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Then, weeks before elections, they reshuffle Biman’s board with regime insiders like national security adviser Khalilur Rahman and special assistant Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb—clearly stacking the deck for post-regime perks.
This isn’t diplomacy; it’s diplomatic blackmail, where Yunus sells out Bangladesh’s sovereignty for short-term brownie points with Washington.
Shady Recruiters
In a move that screams incompetence or worse, the expatriates’ welfare ministry rubber-stamped licenses for 252 new overseas recruitment agencies, ballooning the total to 2,646—the highest in South Asia. They claim it’ll “break syndicates,” but experts call bullshit: weak oversight will only amplify corruption, exploitation, and illegal migration.
Bangladesh now tops the charts for deadly Mediterranean crossings, with over 22,000 risking their lives in 2025 alone, thanks to closed markets like Malaysia and UAE plagued by past abuses.
Yunus promised reform after the uprising, but this is perpetuating the same rotten system, dooming migrants to misery while recruiters get rich.
Election-Eve Spending Spree
On January 25, the Ecnec—under Yunus’ watch—greenlit 25 development projects worth a staggering Tk45,191 crore, including a Tk25,592 crore hike for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, delaying it to 2028. Add in the Tk2,459 crore Bangladesh-China Friendship Hospital, mostly funded by China, and five LNG cargoes from Aramco—it’s a fiscal frenzy designed to drain the treasury.
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Officials babble about “clearing backlogs,” but this is pure sabotage: committing billions in energy and infrastructure deals that handcuff the next government, all while ignoring global disruptions.
Arming The Disgraced RAB
In a tone-deaf outrage, the regime is fast-tracking 163 vehicles for the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)—jeeps, pickups, and microbuses—via direct procurement from state-owned Pragati Industries, bypassing tenders. “Keeping money in government,” says Home Ministry Senior Secretary Nasimul Gani, but who are they kidding?
RAB is infamous for enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings; Yunus’ own inquiry recommended disbanding it, and Human Rights Watch echoes the call. Gani has been under severe criticism for his links to militant groups and for downplaying the law and order situation.
Yet here they are, beefing up this abusive force ahead of polls. It’s not security—it’s shielding a monster, ensuring no accountability as advisers slink away post-tenure.
Social Safety Sham
Expanding 15 social safety net programs for FY27—increasing allowances and beneficiaries—is another slap in the face. Why not do it now if it’s so urgent? Because implementation falls to the elected government, which might scrap this populist ploy. Experts like Mustafa K. Mujeri slam it as unjustifiable, a ploy to “cushion” amid inflation that could’ve been handled this year.
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Topping it off: promoting 118 joint secretaries to additional secretaries on January 27. This bureaucratic bonanza screams favouritism, securing golden parachutes for insiders as the regime gasps its last breaths.
A Fundamental Breach
Renowned economist Debapriya Bhattacharya nails it: this is a “fundamental breach of principle,” morally bankrupt, making life “immensely difficult” for the next government—by design or default. Prof. Anu Muhammad piles on, calling out the lack of transparency, undemocratic processes, and echoes of the previous autocratic regime. Yunus promised reform and stability post-uprising but delivered crisis and unaccountability.
As Bhattacharya questions, is this the “whole government” or interest groups feasting before the fall? The Yunus regime’s final act isn’t governance—it’s a greedy, destructive exit, leaving Bangladesh bound in debt, division, and despair.
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