UNB, Dhaka :
The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is set to launch a tough anti-corruption drive against high-profile graft suspects, including politicians, in the new year, aiming to give an impetus to its fight against the all-pervasive menace, said ACC chairman M Badiuzzaman.
“We hope, we can do something better in new year than in 2014 and intensify our fight against political graft…we were apparently successful in this area (political leaders) last year because we carried out some inquiries against ruling party men unlike in the past,” he said in an interview with UNB.
Asked whom the ACC is targeting, M Badiuzzaman said it cannot be said anything right now how top level graft suspects will be brought under the ACC scanner, but the Commission is seriously thinking to find a way to initiate probes against them.
The ACC chief claimed that the Commission has passed an eventful year — 2014 — because it launched many important probes and investigations from the very beginning of the year while some probes have been completed and some others in progress.
“If we consider all aspects, we may claim we passed a successful year. But, we shouldn’t say we didn’t have any failure. We don’t get expect results in some cases,” he added.
The ACC had started probes into the graft allegations against some important persons (political leaders), Badiuzzaman said, the national anti-graft body could not prove the allegations against some of those thus it was compelled to give the final reports.
“We started inquiries against ruling party leaders, former MPs and former ministers. We couldn’t complete probes into some allegations for lack of evidence, and we filed cases against them in connection with some allegations,” he added.
Despite amassing unusual wealth by some politicians during the last five-year rule of the Awami League-led coalition government, the ACC gave them clean chit, sparking off criticisms last year and raising question about the anti-graft national body’s independence.
About the controversies, Badiuzzaman said some politicians have been able to prove with evidence that they earned their wealth legally and thus the ACC relieved them of the graft allegations.
He said the ACC receives a number of graft allegations each day and it collects graft reports from the media to conduct probes. “Conducting probes into the graft allegations do not means that cases must be filed.”
The ACC chairman went on saying, “If graft accused can prove that they have earned their wealth legally, we don’t harass them. But, there is a perception that if we conduct inquiry, we’ll have to file a case against the accused, and investigation must be carried out and charge-sheet has to be submitted etc. But, things are not like that.”
Asked why people do not trust the national anti-graft watchdog, the ACC chairman humbly disagreed and said, “If they have no trust in the ACC, lots of graft allegations would not have come to it. We cannot carry out probes into all the allegations the Commission receives. Sometimes, many allegations have come to the ACC, which are out of its jurisdiction.”
Badiuzzaman said people are coming to the ACC with graft allegations every day, which proves that people have trust I it the Commission.
The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is set to launch a tough anti-corruption drive against high-profile graft suspects, including politicians, in the new year, aiming to give an impetus to its fight against the all-pervasive menace, said ACC chairman M Badiuzzaman.
“We hope, we can do something better in new year than in 2014 and intensify our fight against political graft…we were apparently successful in this area (political leaders) last year because we carried out some inquiries against ruling party men unlike in the past,” he said in an interview with UNB.
Asked whom the ACC is targeting, M Badiuzzaman said it cannot be said anything right now how top level graft suspects will be brought under the ACC scanner, but the Commission is seriously thinking to find a way to initiate probes against them.
The ACC chief claimed that the Commission has passed an eventful year — 2014 — because it launched many important probes and investigations from the very beginning of the year while some probes have been completed and some others in progress.
“If we consider all aspects, we may claim we passed a successful year. But, we shouldn’t say we didn’t have any failure. We don’t get expect results in some cases,” he added.
The ACC had started probes into the graft allegations against some important persons (political leaders), Badiuzzaman said, the national anti-graft body could not prove the allegations against some of those thus it was compelled to give the final reports.
“We started inquiries against ruling party leaders, former MPs and former ministers. We couldn’t complete probes into some allegations for lack of evidence, and we filed cases against them in connection with some allegations,” he added.
Despite amassing unusual wealth by some politicians during the last five-year rule of the Awami League-led coalition government, the ACC gave them clean chit, sparking off criticisms last year and raising question about the anti-graft national body’s independence.
About the controversies, Badiuzzaman said some politicians have been able to prove with evidence that they earned their wealth legally and thus the ACC relieved them of the graft allegations.
He said the ACC receives a number of graft allegations each day and it collects graft reports from the media to conduct probes. “Conducting probes into the graft allegations do not means that cases must be filed.”
The ACC chairman went on saying, “If graft accused can prove that they have earned their wealth legally, we don’t harass them. But, there is a perception that if we conduct inquiry, we’ll have to file a case against the accused, and investigation must be carried out and charge-sheet has to be submitted etc. But, things are not like that.”
Asked why people do not trust the national anti-graft watchdog, the ACC chairman humbly disagreed and said, “If they have no trust in the ACC, lots of graft allegations would not have come to it. We cannot carry out probes into all the allegations the Commission receives. Sometimes, many allegations have come to the ACC, which are out of its jurisdiction.”
Badiuzzaman said people are coming to the ACC with graft allegations every day, which proves that people have trust I it the Commission.
