Bangladesh News

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) that has remained largely inactive since its inception in November 2004 now looks to the caretaker government for assistance in removing barriers to make itself functional.
ACC Chairman Justice Sultan Hossain Khan yesterday said, “We will soon seek appointment of the chief adviser. We hope we will be able to explain [to him] the barriers we face.”

In more than two years, the ACC could not even finalise rules and regulations necessary for it to be effective. From the outset, obstructions kept coming from the bureaucracy as the last four-party alliance government, accused of wholesale corruption, lay oblivious to the situation.

To be up and running, the ACC needs to have at least five rules finalised and approved. Accordingly, it had drafted a set of rules and sought the then government’s nod. But instead of giving the seal of approval, Khaleda Zia’s government had returned those for revision.

After Prof Iajuddin Ahmed’s caretaker government was formed, the ACC made a fresh move seeking approval of a draft of rules needed to file cases, frame charge-sheets and probe corruption. Titled ‘ACC Case Filing Rules 2006′, the draft has yet to be approved.

The ACC chairman said, “I have already talked to Law Adviser Mainul Hosein about the draft of rules. He has assured me that he will look into the matter.”

Over 100 cases that have been filed so far by the anti-graft body face different legal challenges due mainly to its [ACC's] not having the rules, observed a number of officials at the commission.

Also for absence of the rules, there exist differences of opinion among the chairman and the two ACC commissioners over filing cases.

“Had those[ rules] been approved, we could have made progress in our anti-corruption actions,” said an official.

The commission yesterday held a meeting and approved filing of four new cases for graft in the Oriental Bank. But again, none of those includes Orion Group chief Obaidul Karim’s name although a Bangladesh Bank probe has accused him of swindling Tk 590 crore out of the problem-ridden private bank.

Previously, the ACC had filed 29 cases leaving out Karim.

“We will file a new case against him[Obaidul Karim],” said the ACC chief.

Meanwhile, the ACC has been revising four other rules that it wants to submit to the caretaker government for approval soon. They cover service rules, recruitment, wealth statement declaration and creation of a prosecution cell.