The Bangladesh Air Guard planned to repair four of its MiG-29s in Belarus through local agent Ayesha Airways, linked to Major General (retired) Tarique Ahmed Siddique. Military hardware repair is part of a broader Ponzi scheme by Major General (retired) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, a cousin of former dictator Sheikh Hasina, Director General of Defence Procurement (DGDP) and former dictator Hasina.
Major General (retired) Tarique Ahmed Siddique, a cousin of former dictator Sheikh Hasina, created a fake company, Ayesha Airways, to supply repaired military hardware to the Bangladesh air guard.
Four MiG-29s have been left in Belarus for 1.5 years without any maintenance work. These MiG-29s are yet to return to Bangladesh.
Former Air Marshal Hannan, Director General of Defence Procurement and Tarique Ahmed Siddique created a fake company in the UAE to siphon $60 million as a repair bill. Still, the actual repair was awarded to JSC 558 AIRCRAFT REPAIR PLANT, which is under international sanction.
JSC 558 Aircraft Repair Plant is under strict international sanctions for using its UK-based accounts for money laundering and trafficking dual-use Western technology to Russia and North Korea. JSC 558 Aircraft Repair Plant has been disqualified from participating in any international financial transactions. Due to the Ukraine war, JSC 558 Aircraft Repair Plant is unable to source any spare parts for the Mikoyan Design Bureau, which is currently shut down and without any international aircraft orders.
Eastern European countries no longer operate MiG-29s; they have either purchased European or American fighter jets and mothballed their Soviet-built aircraft. JSC 558 Aircraft Repair Plant cannot source any spare parts for the repair work.
Bangladesh purchased eight MiG-29s from Russia in the late 1990s, at a cost of about $124 million, or $7 million apiece. The initial plan was to order 16 aircraft, but only eight were delivered, comprising 6 MiG-29B and 2 MiG-29UB. As of 2022, the Bangladesh Air Force operates these eight aircraft, though some sources note that the MiG-29 fleet is aging and has only a limited number of operational engines.
In the absence of civilian or judicial oversight over arms procurement, Air Marshal Hannan was able to steal a significant sum from the maintenance deal. When new aircraft cost Bangladesh $7 million apiece, nobody ever asked why repairing one jet cost more than $15 million apiece.
With only six of the 20 engines currently operational for Bangladesh’s eight MiG-29 fighter jets, the government is set to spend around Tk380 crore on a deal with Russian firm JSC NASC to repair, overhaul, and extend the lifespan of the non-functional engines. Bangladesh Air Guard’s three MiG-29s are operational, and five MiG-29s are grounded.
Kickbacks and corruption have become the norm in Bangladesh’s arms procurement. Air Marshal Hannan has been accused of embezzling more than $245 million from the Bangladesh Air Force’s annual budget and siphoning it out of the country to Canada, the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates.
Another case was filed in 2001 regarding the purchase of MiG-29 fighter jets from Russia during the Awami League government in 1999. Sheikh Hasina received more than $5 million in kickbacks for the purchase of MiG-29s from Russia.
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