ACC lacked 'courage' then, but active now

The Anti-Corruption Commission had specific information of 31 influential people amassing illegal assets before the fall of the Awami League government in the face of a mass revolution. However, the independent state agency didn’t have the courage to do anything about it due to prevailing circumstances back then. Now, after the interim government took over, the ACC has taken a decision on principle to investigate the allegations against those persons. Several separate investigations are already underway.

The list of those 31 influential people includes 11 former ministers and state ministers, 19 ex-MPs and a son of a late former minister.

The ACC found specific information about acquiring assets beyond known sources of income against these persons from 2018 to 2020. However, the ACC could not launch any inquiry against those people as the government did give any ‘green signal’ to proceed. Several ACC sources relevant to investigations disclosed the matter to Prothom Alo.

Among the former ministers in that list are – Shahjahan Khan, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, Mostafizur Rahman, Gazi Golam Dastagir, Abdur Rahman and Zillul Hakim. Former state ministers Mahbub Ali, Meher Afroz, Enamur Rahman, Nasrul Hamid and Sharif Ahmed are also in the list of ACC. The formers MPs in the are – Mostafizur Rahman, Asim Kumar Ukil, Manu Mazumdar, Solaiman Haque Joardar, Iqbalur Rahim, Ranajit Kumar Roy, Shafikul Islam Shimul, Golam Faruk, Naimur Rahman, HM Ibrahim, Md Saifuzzaman Shikhar, Rashedul Millat, Hafez Ruhul Amin Madani, Shawkat Hasanur Rahman, Abdul Aziz, Anwarul Ashraf Khan, Didarul Alam and HBM Iqbal. The list also includes former BNP lawmaker Sardar Shakhawat Hossain and Tomal Mansur, son of late Awami League leader Mohammad Nasim.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, several ACC sources relevant to investigations said the ACC has a directive regarding investigations into the allegations of acquiring assets beyond known source of income and money laundering. The ACC officials must inquire about the accused person’s source of income, monetary transactions, property purchased in the name of other persons, and conduct raids at the residence and offices of that person. However, the ACC is struggling to maintain these routine works as they are not getting permissions to conduct any quarries outside in most cases.  The commission itself is responsible for granting these permissions.

The top ACC officials, including serving chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullar and commissioners Md Zahurul Haque and Asia Khatun, were appointed by the recently ousted Awami League government. There have been major reshuffles in a number of different constitutional agencies and statutory organisations, including the top officials, after the interim government led by Dr Muhammad Yunus was sworn in on 8 August. However, the interim government is yet to take any decision regarding the ACC.

Student Against Discrimination coordinators Sarjis Alam and Hasnat Abdullah paid a visit to the ACC office in the capital’s Segunbagicha on 29 August. There they met the ACC chairman. Speaking to the newspersons afterwards, Sarjis Alam said, “We told the ACC that the ousted fascist government lodged fake cases and harassed those who opposed them. False cases were used in every case from family feuds to dispute over lands. We told them that this should not be the case ever again. We also told them no political parties should be given any chance to harass people by framing false charges.”

Since the fall of the Awami League government, the ACC has prepared a primary list of some 150 powerful persons who are accused of achieving assets beyond known source and money laundering. The list includes influential persons, who served as ministers during the last four consecutive terms of the Sheikh-Hasina-government, former lawmakers, bureaucrats, police officials and business persons.

The ACC launched investigations against 79 of them in the 10 days from 15 August to 5 September. Several accused persons from the previously mentioned list of 31 are also in this newly prepared list. Investigations into other people in the list will be launched soon, ACC sources said.

Speaking regarding the ACC propelling its activities after the fall of the Awami League government, ACC chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah told Prothom Alo, “We receive a lot of complaints. Some people are accused of being gross. The ACC detectives then launch inquiries to verify the complaints. If verified, the ACC launches an official investigation. In the same way, we launched investigations against former ministers and lawmakers.”

ACC sources said, investigations are already underway against 15 people, who were ministers during different terms of the AL government. Former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan is one of them. The ACC launched the investigation against him on 15 August. Then on August 17, the investigation began against former finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal and three former members of parliament - Nizam Uddin Hazari, Masud Uddin Chowdhury and Benazir Ahmed. They are accused of controlling the Malaysian labour market through a syndicate. It is alleged that they made a fortune of Tk 240 billion through this.

The ACC started investigations against former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury on 18 August. The ACC accused him of amassing massive illegal assets through corruption forcing his power and money laundering. The ACC said Saifuzzaman established several business firms in the USA, UK and UAE with the laundered money. The former AL minister owns property worth GBP 200 million (Tk 31.40 billion) in London alone, according to the ACC probe report.

The ACC launched probes against 41 former ministers and MPs, including former commerce minister Tipu Munshi on 19 August. This list includes former ministers Hasan Mahmud, Anisul Huq, Dipu Moni, Tipu Munshi, Tajul Islam, Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Nurul Mazid Humayun, Imran Ahmed, Zahid Maleque, Golam Dastagir Gazi, Muhibul Hasan Chowdhury and former state ministers Nasrul Hamid, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Enamur Rahman, Zunaid Ahmed, Faridul Haque Khan, Zakir Hossain, Kamal Ahmed Majumder and Zahid Ahsan Russel.

On 20 August, the ACC launched probes on former shipping minister Shahjahan Khan, five ex-MPs and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s peon Md Jahangir. The ACC sources said they found information of assets worth Tk 210 gained illegally by Jahangir. His wife has property worth Tk 30 million.

The decision to investigate the assets of Salman F Rahman, Nasrul Hamid and Zunaid Ahmed was taken on 22 August, according to ACC sources. Lastly, on 4 September, the commission launched an investigation against former army chief General (retired) Aziz Ahmed.

Analysing the document prepared by the ACC on 41 former ministers and lawmakers, it was found that there are different sorts of allegations against these persons, including abuse of power, misappropriation of government funds through irregularities and corruption and gaining property beyond known source of income. There are also allegations of extortions, tender business and forceful occupation. Some of them are accused of being involved in share market scam, amassing billions invested by the share market investors through forgery, exerting influence to get large bank loans and laundering the money afterwards.

There are allegations against former Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia and former additional commissioner the Detective Branch (DB) Harun-or-Rashid of amassing assets beyond legal source of income. The ACC launched investigations into these allegations on 18 August.

According to ACC sources the former DMP commissioner made huge assets by means of corruption and misuse of power. And former DB chief Harun-or-Rashid purchased a house worth USD 5 million in New York on his wife’s name. He also owns a resort in his own area in Kishoreganj in addition to several houses and apartments in Dhaka.

The investigation into the corruption charges against former cabinet secretary Kabir Bin Anwar began on 25 August.

The ACC launched investigations against highly controversial businessman S Alam, his family and Nafeez Sharafat on 15 August. Former prime minister’s advisor and BEXIMCO group vice chairman Salman F Rahman is also under ACC investigation on charges of amassing assets illegally and money laundering. The investigation began on 22 August.

According to several ACC sources, the commission was forced to harass many businesspersons at the behest of these businesspersons who were very close to the Sheikh Hasina-led government. They forced the ACC to lodge cases against several persons, including MGH Group chief executive officer (CEO) Anis Ahmed. It was Salman F Rahman who pulled the strings from behind for this. In the same way, Nafeez Sharafat was behind the ACC case lodged against the owner of an online news portal.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman said, “The way the ACC set in motion following the regime change proves the commission’s main consideration for taking any action against corruption is whether the concerned person is in power or not. Despite having concrete evidence of corruption against those who had connections with the top echelons of the AL government, the ACC did not take any action.”

He further said, “These ACC investigations against these persons now inevitably raise the question whether these efforts came out of the commission’s moral courage to accomplish their mandate or a cover up for their ineffectiveness and biased approach over the last one and a half decades.”

*This report appeared on the print and online versions of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by Ashish Basu