Published: 12:30 AM, 08 September 2026
Legal notice questions Biman's $3.7bn Boeing deal
The government and Biman Bangladesh Airlines have been served a legal notice questioning the transparency, competitive process and justification for the proposed purchase of 14 Boeing aircraft.
Supreme Court lawyer Mostafa Mohammad Golam Sarwar sent the notice by registered post on Monday in the public interest.
It was addressed to the Cabinet secretary, the secretaries of the civil aviation and tourism and finance ministries, the Biman chairman, and the airline's managing director and chief executive officer, bdnews24 reports.
Reports of an agreement to buy 14 Boeing aircraft emerged on Apr 30.
The proposed fleet includes eight Boeing 787-10s, two 787-9s and four 737 MAX aircraft, with media reports putting their list value at around $3.7 billion.
Sarwar told bdnews24.com that any government purchase of this scale should comply with public procurement laws and regulations.
He questioned whether the expenditure could be justified without a clear assessment of passenger demand and Biman's actual fleet requirements.
"If we buy aircraft at such enormous cost without addressing these problems, will we have enough passengers to fly them? It would be a huge waste of money," he said.
Sarwar also raised questions over transparency and why the aircraft were not being procured through an open competitive tender. "If we have to buy aircraft, why aren't we buying them openly through a competitive tender? Why are we playing hide-and-seek? Airbus is also seeking an opportunity," he said.
The notice referred to recent reports on the proposed purchase and also cited European Union Ambassador Michael Miller's call for the Airbus proposal to be given serious consideration.
Sarwar said neither the government nor Biman had disclosed documents relating to the agreement or any feasibility assessment.
"As a concerned citizen and taxpayer, I have the right to know how the government is spending such a huge amount of public money," he said.
The notice seeks disclosure of relevant memorandums of understanding and feasibility documents.
It also calls for an independent assessment of Biman's fleet requirements, including route-wise passenger demand, load factors and vacant-seat data, before any purchase is finalised.
The notice further seeks an assessment of how passport and visa restrictions affecting Bangladeshis could influence international passenger demand.
It also calls for consideration of the opportunity cost of the proposed expenditure, citing fuel shortages, factory closures, unemployment, inflation, law and order, recovery of defaulted loans, and urgent spending needs in health and family welfare.
The notice argues that decisions involving public resources cannot be shielded from judicial review simply by describing them as "commercial" or "policy" matters.
It cites the case of Mahbubuddin Faruk vs Bangladesh and also refers to the constitutional right to protection of the law.
The notice demands that all files, proceedings, memorandums of understanding and evaluation reports related to the Boeing purchase be preserved and disclosed.
Sarwar said he would file a writ petition if he did not receive a satisfactory response and the requested documents within seven days, or if a fresh agreement was signed without an independent review.
