10 October 2022

Mahtab Uddin Ahmed, former CEO of Robi Axiata, has filed a lawsuit seeking US$25 million in lost benefits and compensation for what he claims was “wrongful dismissal.” This is the first case of a top executive embarking on a legal battle with such a large company in Bangladesh.

Local reports suggest that Ahmed was one of the most dynamic and successful CEOs in the country. In 2021, he decided not to renew his tenure with Robi Axiata once his contract ended in October 2021. The board of directors accepted his resignation but then started an internal investigation exploring his time as CEO. After nine months, the board fired Ahmed retrospectively based on accounting anomalies. Ahmed’s lawyer has claimed that this move will not only ruin his career, but also stop him from receiving retirement benefits from Robi Axiata.

“Imagine your executive career of 31 years destroyed by a corporate vendetta,” Ahmed wrote in a public statement on his Facebook page. “You are not given your agreed contractual bonuses, shares and retirement benefit -- instead, your reputation is tarnished and defamed by the rumours that swirl in our corporate world.”

The first hearing is expected at the end of September.