The Anti-Corruption Commission has yet to get its new chairman after its immediate past chairman Mohammed Moinuddin Abdullah had stepped down nearly two weeks ago amid demands for his resignation following the ouster of the Awami League regime in August.
Also new commissioners have not yet been appointed after Asia Khatoon, commissioner for inquiry, and Zahrul Haque, commissioner for investigation, had resigned facing the same situation.
The situation has left initiatives for new inquiries and approval for cases and charge sheets against corruption suspects left in limbo as such decisions can come only from the full commission comprising its chairman and two commissioners.聽
The commission鈥檚 three top officials, appointed by the immediate past Awami League government, resigned on October 28.聽
Commission officials said that inquiries over graft charges were now underway against a number of former ministers, lawmakers and civil servants of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami regime toppled amid a student-led mass uprising on August 5.
Following the regime change, the commission initiated a huge number of new inquiries, including around 100 former Awami lawmakers and ministers and high-profile individuals over graft charges.
Many more allegations are waiting at the ACC scrutiny cell for decision regarding inquiry, while inquiries, investigation reports and approval of filing new cases also remain pending in the absence of the full commission, causing disruption and stagnation in its activities.
According to the commission鈥檚 statistics, over 3,000 cases are now pending at trial stage with different courts, while inquiries and investigations for 4,008 other allegations and cases remain pending with the commission.
As per the commission rules, an officer gets maximum 75 days to complete an inquiry, and 270 days to complete an investigation, while a provision and a Supreme Court order make it mandatory to complete the trial of any corruption case within 180 days.
But most of the pending enquiries and investigations and trial have far crossed the legally stipulated deadlines.
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman told 抖阴精品, 鈥楽ince the chairman and commissioners have resigned as advised by the government at this crucial stage, it is incumbent upon the government to form the new commission as early as possible in the due process.鈥�
聽鈥楾he urgency is warranted by the fact that a large number of high level individuals associated with the fallen regime have been under inquiry or investigation of the ACC. Despite genuine doubts about the possible outcome of such cases because of the commission鈥檚 well known partisan bias and lack of capacity to take effective action against such high level individuals, the process cannot be allowed to slow down or to freeze.鈥�
Iftekharuzzaman, also head of the Anti-Corruption Commission reform commission formed recently by the interim government, further said that the government should also make sure that no politically biased individuals or anyone even remotely connected with any political parties was not appointed to the commission any more, which had been the main factor behind the institution鈥檚 ineffectiveness in the past.
Contacted, the commission鈥檚 former director general Md Moyeedul Islam confirmed 抖阴精品 that law did not permit it to do crucial tasks such as, conducting inquiry into allegations, filing cases or charge sheets, without a full commission.
The situation had created an impasse, he said.
鈥楢s we鈥檝e heard that president has accepted the resignation of the chairman and commissioners, so I think there is no ground for delaying the appointment of a new commission,鈥� said Moyeedul , who served as its director general from 2015 to 2019.
鈥業f forming a new commission is further delayed, the workload on the commission will mount, while the delay in legal action will give opportunity to corrupt people to flee abroad and handover their illegal wealth to others.鈥�
Stakeholders alleged that since its establishment in 2004, the recruitment of the commission staff was influenced by political and bureaucratic power holders who used the institution as an instrument to fulfill their own purposes.
The Moinuddin Abdullah-led commission faced allegations that it had failed to hold accountable politically influential people involved in massive corruption.
The interim government, led by professor Muhammad Yunus and assuming power on August 8, has recently formed the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission, led by TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman.
The reform commission has been tasked with proposing essential reforms to enhance the effectiveness, independence, and impartiality of the ACC.
Commission secretary Khursheda Yasmeen could not reach for comments over phone.
