Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has awarded the Investigative Journalism Award 2025 to Md Faijul Alam Siddik (Faijul Siddikii). The award was handed over to him on Tuesday afternoon at TIB’s Meghmala Conference Room in Dhaka by the organisation’s Executive Director, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, in the presence of senior journalists from across the country.
According to TIB, Siddiqui produced a 43-minute investigative report titled "Jantrer Jatakole Krishok" on massive irregularities in the Tk 3,025-crore Agricultural Mechanisation Project. The report aired on Channel 24’s Searchlight investigative programme last year.
Following the broadcast of the report, the Ministry of Agriculture initiated an investigation, which confirmed extensive corruption. As a result, the then project director, Tarek Mahmudul Islam, along with eight BCS agriculture cadre officers and one accounts officer, were immediately suspended. In addition, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed cases against 48 agriculture officers linked to the scandal.
Taking the findings into account, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) later conducted an audit and identified financial discrepancies amounting to Tk 1,715 crore.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said the award has been given for the past 26 years as part of the organisation’s anti-corruption social movement. He emphasised that the selected winners represent the finest investigative reports published last year.
Award recipient Faijul Siddikii, who currently serves as a special correspondent at Star News, said that such recognition inspires him to produce even more impactful investigative work. He added that corruption in the agricultural sector is often extensive but rarely receives adequate media attention. His report exposed the involvement of several officials and employees in large-scale corruption within the sector.
Since 1997, TIB has been honouring journalists from national and regional media for excellence in investigative journalism. This year, awards were presented in a total of four categories.
