In 2020, Bangladesh faced a serious loss of international credibility after allegations that a hospital operator and others had issued fraudulent COVID-19 negative certificates.
As positive cases were discovered among travelers arriving in Italy, arrests followed in Bangladesh and concerns spread to overseas employment, education, trade, exports, remittances, and the country’s broader business reputation.
This article records a July 29, 2020 Nikkei report that also referred to Transparency International’s assessment of corruption in Bangladesh.

2020-07-29
During the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many countries introduced requirements for testing and certificates showing that travelers were negative for the virus.
In Bangladesh, strong demand for such documents among workers needing to travel abroad created conditions in which fraudulent negative certificates were allegedly issued.
The consequences extended beyond public health to international trust, overseas employment, exports, remittances, and the wider economy.
The following is from a Nikkei article published on July 29, 2020 under the headline “COVID-19 Negative Certificates Falsified.”
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2020-07-29
Transparency International’s research also ranked Bangladesh among the countries suffering from particularly serious corruption.
The following is from today’s Nikkei article titled “COVID-19 Negative Certificates Falsified.”
DHAKA — A.Z.M. Anas
Bangladesh is losing international credibility because of the alleged falsification of COVID-19 negative certificates by a hospital operator in the country.
Although authorities moved quickly to arrest the central figure in an effort to restore the country’s reputation, concerns emerged that Bangladeshi businesspeople might find it more difficult to earn trust overseas in the future.
As the spread of COVID-19 reduced Bangladesh’s trade, an unfortunate new niche business emerged.
It was the falsification of negative certificates.
The incident arose amid strong demand from workers who needed such documents in order to travel abroad.
Suspicions of wrongdoing intensified in Italy.
Among 600 people who had recently arrived there from Bangladesh, 65 tested positive.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry responded in a statement that none of them had possessed fraudulent certificates.
It acknowledged, however, that several had ignored mandatory quarantine measures and contributed to the spread of the virus.
Bangladesh’s international image continued to deteriorate.
The country then moved rapidly to clean up its health sector, where corruption was regarded as widespread.
On July 15, police arrested hospital operator Mohammad Shahed as he allegedly attempted to flee to neighboring India.
Surgeons and others were also arrested.
They were accused of issuing fraudulent negative certificates, and tax authorities froze bank accounts associated with the case.
According to reports, around 60 dollars was charged for each document.
At approximately the same time as the arrests, Italy refused entry to 165 Bangladeshi nationals who had arrived on a Qatar Airways flight.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal accused Shahed by name of damaging the country.
He said that while everyone else was desperately fighting the spread of COVID-19, Shahed had been desperately trying to deceive people.
Analysts argued that establishing a reliable testing system was essential if Bangladesh was to repair its damaged international image.
The situation was also serious for Bangladeshis working in Europe and other parts of the world.
Italy, for example, hosted more than 140,000 Bangladeshis and was an important source of remittances to Bangladesh.
At the time, however, Bangladeshi nationals faced restrictions on travel to countries belonging to the Schengen area, which guarantees freedom of movement within much of Europe.
Although Europe had begun easing travel restrictions for some countries, Bangladesh was still regarded as unsafe.
Students also faced a high likelihood of being unable to enter Europe and elsewhere for the start of the new academic term.
The disruption also threatened remittance flows as large numbers of overseas Bangladeshis returned home.
Bangladesh had maintained economic growth of around seven percent for the previous decade, supported by exports, agriculture, and remittances from overseas workers.
But conditions surrounding remittances were changing, exports had fallen sharply, and economic anxiety was growing.
The nature of Bangladesh’s overseas business relationships could therefore change significantly.
Some experts warned that foreigners might no longer trust Bangladeshi businesspeople.
Transparency International, the Berlin-based nongovernmental organization that monitors corruption worldwide, had also ranked Bangladesh among the countries suffering from particularly serious corruption.