An Emirati state-owned business appointed to set up a new passenger information system at Bangladeshi airports sub-contracted part of the project to a company co-owned by the UAE’s own ambassador to the country.
Documents seen by Middle East Eye appear to raise questions about whether the arrangement delivers value for money for the Bangladeshi government or travellers facing higher prices as a consequence of inflated costs linked to the new system.
They also raise questions about a potential conflict of interest on the part of the UAE’s ambassador in Bangladesh, Abdulla Ali Alhmoudi, who has promoted closer ties between the aviation sectors in the two countries.
Iftekhar Zaman, the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, called for an investigation into the deal, which he said appeared to amount to “a clear case of conflict of interests and an abuse of power”.
Zaman told MEE: “As a public servant, an ambassador cannot be involved in any business activity without specific approval of the government.
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“The first question, therefore, is whether such approvals were obtained. An equally important question is what is the source of the capital he has invested.
“More importantly, an in-service public official cannot have business relationships with the government. No less important is the potential reputational damage caused by an ambassador.”
Middle East Eye has contacted Alhmoudi, the Emirati embassy in Dhaka, the Emirati foreign ministry, the Bangladeshi government and the companies and individuals named in this story but none had responded at the time of writing.
Bangladeshi officials with knowledge of the deal also refused to comment due to concerns that speaking out would jeopardise Bangladesh’s relationship with the UAE.
Deal signed by previous government
The new passenger information system is being implemented in order to bring Bangladeshi airports in line with international standards requiring the collection of Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data.
In December 2022, the governments of Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly explore setting up API and PNR systems in Bangladesh.
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An Emirati state-owned business, Emirates Technology Solutions (Etek), based in Fujairah was appointed to lead the project.
In turn it subcontracted the work to a Dubai-based company named Identima which was registered in 2021 by Alhmoudi.
At the time of Identima’s registration, Alhmoudi was serving as the UAE’s charge d’affaires in Dhaka – the second-highest diplomatic post in the country – raising questions about whether he was already using his position to advance business interests.
Before Dhaka, Alhmoudi served as the UAE’s deputy head of mission in Libya from 2013 to 2014.
Alhmoudi is listed in business documents as a partner owning a 34 percent share and as the manager of the company. Two Bangladeshi nationals, Muntasir Billa Shahariar and Sajed Ahammad Sami, are also listed as partners, with each holding a 33 percent share in Identima.
Shahariar appears to have enjoyed close ties with the former Awami League government led by then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina, which was toppled by popular protests last August.
Images seen by MEE show Shahariar attending private meetings with Hasina.
Neither Etek nor Identima had any apparent previous experience in setting up or running airport information systems.
Swiss software
Identima then agreed a deal for the system to be built using software provided by a Swiss company, SITA, which is considered to be one of the world’s leading specialists in the field, and which provides IT systems for the UAE’s own airports.
The documents also mention a second company, Entrust, which appears to have worked in coordination with Identima.
Business records list Entrust as a technical partner involved in integrating SITA’s software – although its precise role remains unclear. Identima is named in these documents as the “paying agent”.
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The documents appear to raise questions about whether the agreement has resulted in Bangladesh paying over the odds for use of SITA’s software.
MEE understands that under the deal Bangladesh was initially to be charged a fee of around $6.50 per passenger, although this was later reduced to $4.
But the International Civil Aviation Organization recommends a fee of $3.50 per passenger, while SITA is understood to charge $1.50 per passenger for providing the same services in the UAE, according to sources familiar with these details.
SITA typically makes agreements with governments, airport authorities, or national aviation bodies. Any third party involved in handling SITA systems would need to be authorised either by the company itself or by the relevant contracting government entity.
MEE contacted multiple aviation experts who declined to comment on SITA and its pricing, citing commercial sensitivity.
The documents also raise questions about the appropriateness of Alhmoudi’s apparent business interests in the project.
Alhmoudi has promoted the UAE’s deepening involvement in Bangladesh’s aviation sector in his official duties.
In Septemberr, he met Monjur Kabir Bhuiyan, the chair of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, to discuss expanding cooperation in areas including “ground handling services, anti-drone systems, and passenger information systems”, according to Bangladeshi media reports.
‘As a public servant, an ambassador cannot be involved in any business activity without specific approval of the government’
– Iftekhar Zaman, Transparency International Bangladesh
A memorandum of understanding signed between Etek and Identima in October 2021, which is signed on Identima’s part by Shahariar and by Alhmoudi as a witness, notes that each company “warrants that no conflict of interest exists or is likely to arise”.
It states that each company will notify the other if a conflict arises, and that both will seek to resolve it.
MEE has asked Alhmoudi, Shahariar, and both companies whether they have taken any steps to address Alhmoudi’s apparent conflict of interest.
The Vienna Convention, the United Nations treaty governing the conduct of international diplomacy, strictly forbids diplomats from profiting from professional or commercial activities in the countries where they are based.
Alhmoudi was appointed ambassador in Dhaka on 21 September 2022, just over three months before the memorandum was signed on 28 December that year.
Zaman, of Transparency International Bangladesh, told MEE: “All these matters should be thoroughly investigated through due process to ensure the accountability of the ambassador, as well as those who were involved in the approval of this contract.”
The revelations about Alhmoudi’s involvement come as the current MoU between Bangladesh and the UAE is due to expire at the end of this month.
MEE has seen a copy of a renewal agreement dated 2 July 2024 which was signed by Alhmoudi on behalf of the government of Fujairah.
In a letter to the Bangladeshi foreign ministry dated 22 May, the UAE’s embassy in Dhaka requested a further extension until 30 June 2026.
‘Slow progress’
The future of the project now appears clouded by uncertainty.
In April, Bangladesh’s Financial Express reported that CAAB was “making slow progress” in implementing the passenger information system
It reported that a committee had been created earlier this year to review and evaluate proposals from different countries.
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A CAAB official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the newspaper that the aviation authority planned to implement SITA through a company charging a “comparatively higher cost” than the ICAO recommendation of $3.50 per passenger, and raised concerns that the additional burden would fall on passengers, namely Bangladeshi labourers working abroad.
The UAE and Bangladesh share strong economic and diplomatic relations, with trade between the two countries in recent years worth $2bn.
Besides being one of Bangladesh’s top five sources of foreign investment, the Emirates hosts approximately 1.2 million Bangladeshi workers across various sectors, with remittances from the UAE worth millions to the Bangladeshi economy.
Both countries have also seen a change in relations after the fall of Hasina. In 2025, the UAE has signed several MOUs with Bangladesh to collaborate further in development, technology, finance, tourism and to explore direct shipping between the Bangladeshi port city of Chittagong and Dubai.
Following lobbying from Mohammed Yunus, the chief adviser to Bangladesh’s interim government, the UAE also released dozens of Bangladeshis who protested in the Emirates against Hasina’s rule.
