An internal investigation has revealed that 23 out of 34 officials of the Bangladesh Tea Board received appointments and promotions in violation of regulations during the Awami League government. The inquiry found that some officials used political or personal connections to secure positions, including relatives of ministers and associates of senior police officials. The findings, submitted on March 30 after four months of investigation, identified multiple cases of rule violations in both the Tea Research Institute and the Project Development Unit. The committee recommended canceling several promotion orders and recovering funds improperly received by some employees.

The investigation also uncovered large-scale corruption involving fake and deceased workers in state-owned tea estates, particularly at the New Samanbagh Tea Garden. Out of 1,820 listed workers, only 315 were verified as genuine, while over 1,000 had mismatched or missing identification records. The report estimated that the government loses millions of taka monthly due to salaries and benefits paid to non-existent workers.

Officials involved in the inquiry confirmed the irregularities and submitted their reports to higher authorities, but no further action has yet been reported.