Anti-corruption Commission’s (ACC) outgoing chairman Ghulam Rahman on Wednesday emphasized on the need for amending the ACC act and said that the anti-graft body would remain a toothless tiger. He said people have huge expectations from the ACC, but it can conduct inquiries only into scheduled offences because of limitations in the Anti-corruption Commission Act, 2004. “We spend over Tk. 100 crore on our lawyers annually, but none of the accused is punished because the cases are delayed. So there is an impression that the ACC is a toothless tiger. People may realise the ACC’s bite if at least 100 corrupt persons are convicted,” he said while exchanging views with media at his office.
The ACC chief claimed that the slow judicial process in disposing of corruption cases was affecting his commission’s image.
Responding to a question, Rahman said ACC investigators did not find substantial evidence to include Hossain’s name in the FIR against suspects in the multi-crore scam.
“The ACC quizzed 32 persons during its investigation, but none of them mentioned the former communication minister’s name,” he said.
Rahman accused the World Bank of pressurising Dhaka to include Hossain’s name in the list of accused. “But the ACC did not do so because of lack of evidence against Hossain,” he added.
He also cast doubts on the report by the World Bank’s external panel on the issue. “The World Bank had created pressure to remove the Prime Minister’s economic adviser, Dr Mashiur Rahman, from his post. However, the external panel’s final report did not include his name.
“If one thinks that the World Bank’s statement is absolute, that is not true,” he asserted.
Rahman said he favoured quick decisions on the Hall-Mark and Destiny corruption cases, but that could not happen due to delays in the legal process.
“I think the real estate and manpower sectors are full of corruption. But, the ACC can’t do anything in this regard as it’s not a scheduled offence as per the Anti-corruption Commission Act, 2004,” he said, adding that lawmakers should seriously consider the issue to check graft in these sectors.
The ACC chief said the government has undertaken a move to amend the law and prepared a draft Bill, which is set to be placed in Parliament. “This would be a good Act. I will be a happy man if the Bill is passed during my tenure,” he said.
He claimed that his tenure saw a turnaround in the ACC’s image. “When I took over, the ACC was faced with severe criticism. But now, it has turned into a trusted organisation,” he said.
“In several areas, the culture of corruption has become a socially acceptable thing. If this mind set is not changed, checking graft would become an impossible task,” he added.
-With The Independent input
