For the past 15 years, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has been turning a blind secret agent to the misdeeds of ruling celebration ministers, MPs, top bureaucrats and businessmen, concentrating as a substitute on smaller fish.
However, for the explanation that plunge of Hasina’s Awami League executive on 5 August, the anti-graft body, established in 2004, has became the tables and started to walk after the mountainous fish long regarded as untouchable.
Throughout the previous couple of weeks, the ACC has launched inquiries into at the least 82 high-profile participants, including 71 historical ministers and MPs. On top of that, the commission is digging into the affairs of over 200 others, including their household people, with officers hinting that this listing is accurate the tip of the iceberg.
Regardless of being an honest body, ACC officers admitted that they needed to toe the line and anticipate the green gentle from executive high-united statesbefore taking any action in opposition to Awami League leaders.
The commission has been within the brand new seat for now no longer exhibiting sufficient spine, turning a blind secret agent to influential figures, letting high-ranking bureaucrats off the hook for corruption, and effectively granting unwritten immunity to the govtelite.
Basically essentially based on ACC sources, since 15 August, the commission has announced plans to probe at the least 35 historical ministers. These investigations will sort out allegations of corruption all the simplest arrangement by their time in office.
Among the many standard ministers below scrutiny are Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, AHM Mustafa Kamal, Shajahan Khan, Zillul Hakim, Tipu Munshi, Nasrul Hamid, Anisul Huq, Dipu Moni, Tajul Islam, Junaid Ahmed Palak, Zahid Malek, Mohibul Hassan Chowdhury Nowfel, Hasanul Haq Inu, and Hasan Mahmud.
Additionally, at the least 38 historical parliamentarians are now on the wished listing. Among them are Ashim Kumar Ukil, Saifuzzaman Shikhor, Dhirendra Devnath Shambhu, Kujendra Lal Tripura, Sheikh Afil Uddin, Kazi Nabil Ahmed, Enamul Haque, Solaiman Haque Joarder, and Shah Alam Talukder.
These historical ministers and MPs face a amount of prices, including abuse of vitality, acquiring unlawful wealth worth thousands of crores of taka, smuggling money and gold out of the country, and collecting abnormal resources below their household people’ names.
Aged ACC Director Total Maidul Islam told TBS, “Regardless of complaints in opposition to these participants, the ACC might well also now no longer clutch action for a very long time. The files had been left unattended. After the autumn of the authoritarian regime, cases are being looked into.
“It clearly indicates that the previous executive exerted critical affect on the ACC. With the latest executive, such affect is now now no longer latest.”
When a complaint is submitted to the ACC, the scrutiny committee opinions it and recommends whether or now no longer to proceed with an inquiry. However, influential figures own largely escaped scrutiny.
Officers said, final yr, the ACC purchased 15,437 complaints, of which handiest 845 had been licensed for inquiry. Within the principle six months of this yr, from 5,300 complaints, handiest 363 had been licensed for inquiry.
In other phrases, despite receiving over a thousand complaints every month, handiest 50-60 are chosen for probing, most of which hang minor corruption.
Because the autumn of the Awami League executive, there has been a shift against specializing in critical corruption cases, per officers.
A senior ACC official, on situation of anonymity, told TBS, “Fully 4-5% of the complaints we receive are forwarded for inquiry by the scrutiny committee. However, in August, the charge of investigations elevated greatly.
“Even supposing the ACC was said to be honest, it couldn’t pursue cases in opposition to influential participants without a signal from the pinnacle, which allowed many ministers, MPs, and bureaucrats to evade accountability,” he added.
The historical police chief Benazir Ahmed, alternatively, faced the ACC scrutiny sooner than the autumn of Hasina, nevertheless it was handiest after a nationwide day after day ran a two-section listing on his undisclosed asset acquisition. The watchdog uncovered a critical amount of wealth tied to Benazir and his household people.
Moreover, historical DMP commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia and historical DB chief Harun Or Rashid nowadays own attain below the ACC scanner.
The historical DB chief faces allegations of owning at the least 18 properties (land and constructions) in Dhaka’s Uttara alone, as well as to properties in other areas.
Additionally, the ACC is asking into allegations in opposition to historical cabinet secretary Kabir bin Anwar referring to the accumulation of tall resources.
Ongoing probes are additionally focused on historical navy chief Total Aziz Ahmed and his brothers, Haris Ahmed and Tofail Ahmed Joseph, over a amount of prices, including unlawful resources, money laundering, and illicit transactions.
Aged National Safety Intelligence (NSI) DG TM Jobair is below scrutiny for allegedly collecting fat wealth domestically and laundering immense sums of money all the simplest arrangement by London, Dubai, Singapore, and Turkey.
Moreover to to ministers, MPs, and bureaucrats, the ACC is now investigating three infamous businessmen who had shut ties with the ousted AL executive.
Businessman Salman F Rahman, historical MP and top minister’s deepest alternate and funding adviser, faces allegations of laundering thousands of crores of taka by extensive corruption, looting, inventory market scams, and financial fraud over the past 15 years.
Saiful Alam Masud of S Alam Neighborhood is below investigation for embezzling spherical Tk1 lakh crore from six banks, including converse-owned ones.
Businessman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat is accused of embezzling funds by corruption and abuse of vitality, horny in half market scams, and committing Tk400 crore mortgage fraud at Padma Bank.
ACC Secretary Khorseda Yasmeen nowadays told the media that the ACC operates systematically, adhering to strategies in its investigations. Whereas secret investigations had been previously conducted in opposition to these participants, public inquiries own now been initiated.
Previously, the ACC investigated a amount of ministers and MPs, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina, all the simplest arrangement by the 1/11 incident.
However, once the Awami League executive assumed vitality in 2009, its people had been largely protected in opposition to ACC investigations, although lawsuits in opposition to opposition figures persevered.
Manjur A Chowdhury, chairman of the Heart for Governance Glimpse (CGS), told TBS, “We had consistently hoped the ACC would act as an unprejudiced institution, nevertheless it has fallen short. Between 2006 and 2016, some 22,000 complaints had been filed, nevertheless 18,000 had been brushed off.”
He added, “In 2023, handiest 250 other folks had been accused of official corruption all the simplest arrangement by 195 cases. How might well also that be? With 18 crore other folks within the nation, this data suggests Bangladesh is mainly the most corruption-free nation on this planet.”
How will ACC fare in future?
Analysts now impart it stays to be seen whether or now no longer the watchdog can retain its latest style and whisk below a political executive.
Manjur A Chowdhury argued that corruption is essentially perpetrated by executive officers, who had been additionally appointed to the ACC. “The ACC wishes reform and shall be managed by civil society people pretty than bureaucrats. He proposed that ACC cells be established in each ministry and division,” he said.
“ACC’s latest attain additionally lacks transparency. This executive is targeted on particular participants, and the BNP [if voted to power] would likely invent the same. The ACC is restful now no longer working independently,” he added.
