A huge number of cases, inquiries, and investigations against corruption suspects have remained pending with the Anti-Corruption Commission for years due to the failure to complete them in due time.
According to the latest available ACC statistics, a total of 3,348 cases are now pending with courts across the country, while a total of 4,008 inquiries and investigations remain pending with the ACC.
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told that delays in inquiry, investigation, and trial might benefit corruption suspects.
‘Failure to complete inquiry, investigation, and trial in due time creates many scopes for corruption suspects to find a way out of the ACC’s net,’ he added.
‘If corrupt people do not get punishment after committing crimes, it creates frustration among the people,’ he added.
Statistics show that of the 3,348 cases pending with the courts, trial proceedings are underway in 2,919 cases, while trial proceedings have remained suspended in 429 cases following High Court orders.
Apart from this, 732 writ petitions, 927 criminal miscellaneous cases, 1,223 criminal appeals, and 681 criminal revision cases are pending for disposal until March, according to ACC data.
The data also showed that a total of 4,008 inquiries and investigations remained pending with the anti-graft watchdog until December 2023.
As per the commission rules, an officer gets a maximum of 75 days to complete an inquiry and 270 days to complete an investigation. But most of the pending inquiries and investigations have surpassed their deadlines to complete the probe.
In 2023, the ACC completed a total of 2,029 inquiries through different means, and the rest of 2,399 inquiries remained pending with the ACC.
Apart from this, the commission completed investigations in a total of 555 cases in 2023, but investigations in the rest of the 1,609 cases were pending with the ACC.
ACC commissioner [inquiry] Md Zahurul Haque said that they were trying to expedite the process.
‘Earlier, much time was needed to complete any inquiry and investigation, but now we are trying to complete the probe within the stipulated time as per the law.’
‘Around 2,500 inquiries are now pending with ACC, but we do not have enough manpower to complete the probe within the deadline.’
He insisted that pending inquiries and cases would be reduced gradually as they recently increased their overall activities to combat corruption.
Experts criticised the ACC for failing to complete an investigation in 52 cases filed against former NRB Global Bank managing director Proshanta Kumar Halder, also known as PK Halder, and 85 others between 2020 and 2022 over embezzlement of Tk 3,400 crore from various financial institutions.
In January 2023, it was reported in the media that WASA managing director Taksim A Khan purchased 14 houses in the United States of America.
Following the report, ACC formed a two-member team to inquire into the allegations against Taksim on charges of amassing illegal wealth and laundering money to the US in various ways. But, the commission could not complete the inquiry.
In 2019, the ACC initiated inquiries against 22 former and serving lawmakers on charges of corruption, including amassing illegal wealth, but most of the inquiries remained pending.
The ruling Awami League lawmakers Omar Faruque Chowdhury, Mahfuzur Rahman Mita, Moazzem Hossain Ratan, Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shawon, Pankaj Debnath, and Abdullah Al Islam Jacob were among the 22 people who faced ACC inquiries.
Apart from this, Mahi B Chowdhury, a lawmaker from Bikalpa Dhara, Bangladesh, and former AL lawmakers BM Mozammel Haque and Sirajul Islam Molla also came under the ACC’s inquiries, but the probe is still underway.
Jatiya Party’s ABM Ruhul Amin Hawladar’s name was also among them.
An inquiry into the non-funded part of the Sonali Bank-Hallmark Group scam also remained pending with the ACC, even after 12 years since the start of the inquiry in 2012.
The commission reconstituted its inquiry team several times in this regard, but could not resolve the mystery of about Tk 1,200 crore of embezzlement.
Most of the inquiries and investigations launched by the commission into health-sector corruption and irregularities unearthed amid the Covid-19 situation in the past three years also remained frozen.
In July 2020, the commission made a list of over 100 people involved in various corruption and irregularities in the health sector based on the findings of its own intelligence unit and other government agencies.
They were allegedly involved in various types of corruption, including recruitment irregularities, tender forgeries, purchase-related wrongdoings, illegal involvement in business, and the accumulation of illegal wealth, ACC officials said.
But the commission could not complete the investigation into most of these individuals.
There is a provision and a Supreme Court order to complete a trial in any corruption case by 180 days, but most of the cases are not completed in due time.
Contacted, ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan said that the accused in the graft cases filed many petitions with the High Court during trial stages, challenging different orders of the lower court and delaying the process.
Apart from this, there is also a lack of skilled manpower to deal with the graft cases, he said, claiming that the disposal rate of pending cases has increased in the past three years.
Source: The New Age, Dhaka.
