Mahfuj Alam edits post after 'everyone is corrupt' claim

Mahfuj Alam, information and broadcasting adviser to the interim government, removed a portion of a Facebook post in which he claimed that "almost everyone in a circle is corrupt", shortly after posting it early today.

The original version of the post, published at 2:51am, referenced an attempt at lobbying and a proposal involving corruption. In it, Mahfuj described an incident where a person was introduced to his brother with an offer related to a BTV tender.

"If the BTV tender is approved, they promised a percentage and assistance with programmes in several countries in July," he wrote.

"Upon learning about it, I rejected the idea. Even with good intentions, one must not breach the trust of the state. Later, the tender was suspended."

He further claimed the person recorded their conversation and sent it to a journalist.

"When the journalist reached out, I clarified that we did not allow this to proceed. That individual brought up the July programmes as part of a ploy to expose us. The journalist believed my account and did not make the recording public."

In the same post, Mahfuj hinted at wider corruption.

"Many are now targeting me because some have recently had their tails cut off. A few heavyweights from a new party are involved. Everything will come to light. In one circle, almost everyone is corrupt—except one person who isn't touching any money. Who can tolerate that?"

In a postscript, he added, "Even my worst enemies haven't accused me of corruption or financial irregularities in the past 12 months. This is causing trouble for the heavyweights of a certain new party. The responsibility of the state is a sacred trust. Honour and that trust are worth more than billions."

However, at 4:28am, roughly an hour and a half later, Mahfuj edited the post. The revised version removed the line about "almost everyone in a circle" being corrupt and changed "heavyweights of a new party" to "heavyweights of various parties".

In a note below the edited post, he wrote, "A few sentences are causing unnecessary fuss, so I've made edits. For some, July is a ladder for political mobility. Heavyweights from more than one party are working against me/us. But now, we must all unite against rumour mongers and opportunists."