As the controversy over contracts given to Sigma Engineers Limited continues to fester, research has shown that three senior officials of its Bangladesh establishment were named in a corruption case filed in Bangladesh in 2020 over the alleged misappropriation of Tk 344.15 million, equivalent to Tk 34.42 crore.
Reports in Bangladesh’s The Daily Star, The Financial Express and The Business Standard said the country’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) instituted proceedings against 11 persons in relation to the purchase of eight pumps for the Kashimpur Pump House under the Manu River Irrigation Project in Moulvibazar.
Those named included Sigma’s Managing Director Syed Md Kamal, Chairman Syed Arshed Reza and General Manager Abdus Salam, along with eight engineers of the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB). The spelling of the chairman’s middle name appeared as both Arshed and Arshad in the reports.
According to The Financial Express, the ACC alleged that BWDB officials, in collusion with the contractor, paid Tk 548.32 million to Sigma for the pumps although their actual price was Tk 204.17 million. The difference of Tk 344.15 million was alleged to have been misappropriated.
The Business Standard reported that an investigation into the matter began in 2019, while The Daily Star said the case statement alleged that the pumps had been procured at a price Tk 34.42 crore above their actual value.
No report of a conviction or other final disposal of the case could be found. The reports reviewed concerned the filing of the case and the allegations against those named, and do not establish guilt. Sigma’s response to the Bangladesh proceedings was also not contained in the reports.
The Bangladesh case has surfaced as Sigma faces fresh scrutiny in Guyana following claims by Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed about the award of more than $12 billion in government contracts to the company and its alleged association with Mohamed Aqtar Ali, a brother of President Irfaan Ali.
Mohamed alleged on Monday that the Guyana company, Sigma Engineers Ltd Inc, was registered on October 6, 2022 and that a close associate of Aqtar Ali was listed as its incorporator, director and secretary. He also alleged that Aqtar Ali’s name appeared in the company’s financial records.
Sigma has rejected the allegations, describing them as serious misrepresentations, and has retained legal counsel. It said Sigma Engineers Limited had been incorporated and operating in Bangladesh since 2003 and that the Guyana entity was registered in October 2022.
The company acknowledged that Aqtar Ali is engaged by its Guyana operation as a senior technical consultant, but said he has no affiliation with the company in Bangladesh. Aqtar Ali has also threatened legal proceedings over what his lawyer described as defamatory statements.
Sigma, in a statement issued on Monday, said that Sigma Engineers Ltd Inc was registered in Guyana on October 6, 2022and that its first contract here was awarded in 2026 following a national competitive bidding process conducted through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board.
That assertion appears to be at odds with information published by Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI). In October 2022, GWI announced that it had signed three contracts, valued at a total of $8.5 billion, for the construction of seven large water-treatment plants. GWI identified Sigma Engineers Limited of Bangladesh, Hi Pro Ecologicos of Mexico and Toshiba Water Solutions Private Limited of India as the contractors and said the awards followed a public tender process.
The plants were to be constructed at Onderneeming in Region Two; Parika, Wales and Lust-en-Rust in Region Three; and Caledonia, Cummings Lodge and Bachelor’s Adventure in Region Four. The Department of Public Information also reported at the time that Sigma Engineering Limited of Bangladesh was among the companies awarded contracts. DPI
In April 2024, Stabroek News reported that government reported that the $1.9 billion Bachelor’s Adventure plant was being constructed by Sigma Engineers Limited. When the Caledonia plant was commissioned in January 2025, GWI Chief Executive Officer Shaik Baksh identified Sigma as the contractor and said the company was also constructing the Cummings Lodge and Bachelor’s Adventure plants. Government of Guyana.
The Cummings Lodge plant was commissioned in October 2025. The government said it had been built by Sigma Engineers Ltd at a cost of $1.3 billion.
Sigma’s statement did not explain how its claim that its first Guyana contract was awarded in 2026 accords with the official records relating to the contracts signed in 2022 and the projects subsequently executed by the company.
The company had previously attracted attention here in March 2024 after a letter surfaced showing that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had authorised it to facilitate the recruitment of 500 Bangladeshi healthcare workers.
The disclosure prompted questions about the use of an engineering company as a recruitment intermediary and concern about the treatment of local nurses. The ministry subsequently said the authorisation was intended to address skills shortages and to prevent human trafficking or abuse of the process. It said that no healthcare worker had, up to that point, been recruited through Sigma.
Sigma has said it conducts its operations in keeping with Guyana’s laws and maintains high standards of professionalism, accountability and integrity.
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