22 Years On, Anti-Corruption Commission Still Lacks a Central Database of Its Own

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has repeatedly investigated the same individuals over identical allegations, sometimes for decades, due to the absence of a central database. Despite the allegations being found unsubstantiated and cases recommended for closure, complainants have continued to trigger fresh investigations, causing prolonged harassment.

Businessman Md Abul Kashem of Natore is a striking example. An anonymous complaint filed with the then Anti-Corruption Bureau in 1990 accused him of running a business alongside his government job. The allegation was found baseless, and he was cleared in 1994.

However, another complaint against him was filed at the bureau’s Dhaka office. Following repeated reviews and queries, several officials recommended closing the case, but the process dragged on for years. In 2004, the bureau was transformed into the ACC under a new law.

In 2009, the ACC’s Dhaka office issued Kashem a notice to submit a statement of assets. He challenged its legality through a writ petition (No. 3941/2010). After hearing the case, a High Court division bench questioned why the notice should not be declared illegal.

In its final ruling, the court noted that Kashem was a taxpayer and owner of a group of companies. Although he had worked at Titas Gas, he had served in active government employment for only two and a half years before resigning in 2003 after receiving his full benefits.

The ACC subsequently filed a civil petition seeking leave to appeal, but the Supreme Court dismissed it because it had been filed beyond the prescribed time limit.

In 2018, the ACC’s Dhaka-1 integrated district office launched another investigation into Kashem and his wife, Umme Kulsum Momtaz. Separate notices requiring them to submit statements of assets were issued on March 28, 2019. Both complied.

Former ACC Deputy Director Md Abdul Mazed and Assistant Director Md Rezaul Karim examined their asset declarations, collected relevant documents and conducted field inspections. Both investigators found no evidence of illegal wealth and recommended closing the files.

However, the commission returned the reports with further queries. The file remained pending for years until the commission led by then ACC Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah closed the investigation in 2024, following the July uprising and the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government.

The closed files were subsequently stored manually in a warehouse, leaving open the possibility that fresh anonymous complaints could trigger another investigation into the same allegations.

Mr. Kashem’s case is only one of many such examples at the ACC. Repeated investigations into identical allegations against the same person by different officials have become commonplace. By the time the commission merges multiple files, the individuals concerned may already have suffered social humiliation and prolonged harassment.

Despite having financial autonomy under the law, the ACC has failed to establish a central database over more than two decades. Some observers suspect that resistance from groups benefiting from harassment and the alleged business of issuing notices may be preventing the initiative from moving forward.

Legal provisions also raise questions about the repeated investigations. Sections 10 and 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure prohibit retrial or reinvestigation of matters already adjudicated or investigated in certain circumstances. Article 111 of the Constitution requires the High Court Division to follow the Supreme Court Appellate Division’s rulings, while decisions of both divisions are binding on subordinate courts.

Yet investigations into the same allegations have continued across different ACC offices. A case closed by the Rajshahi divisional office may be investigated again in Dhaka, only for another office in Chattogram to reopen the matter. Final decisions on investigations, however, are made at the commission level at the ACC headquarters.

Other cases illustrate the scale of the problem. The ACC opened seven separate investigation files against former Titas Gas managing director engineer Naushadul Islam over allegations of illegal wealth. All seven files were eventually closed, although the commission later filed a case against him and his wife over alleged illegal assets.

An investigation into the assets of Mirza Saifur Rahman, a former surveyor at the Department of Shipping, continued for more than 12 years before he was arrested in a trap case.

Another investigation involving Captain Giasuddin Ahmed, former chief nautical surveyor at the Department of Shipping, changed hands repeatedly over six years. A case was finally filed on August 28 last year, accusing him of acquiring Tk 4.7471 crore in illegal assets.

The ACC has also been investigating allegations involving Popular Life Insurance Company Managing Director B M Yusuf Ali over the alleged embezzlement of Tk 293.38 crore in customer funds. The inquiry into his alleged acquisition of illegal wealth has continued for 12 years, with investigation officers changing repeatedly but no final closure or formal case filing.

Analysts attribute the prolonged investigations partly to deliberate practices and partly to a lack of coordination. More than two decades after its establishment, the ACC still lacks a central system that would allow the commission to track the location of each file, identify the officer responsible and monitor how long an investigation has remained pending.

Former ACC Director General (Legal) Md Meidul Islam described the situation as deeply disappointing in the digital age. He said he had encountered cases in which multiple officers at the headquarters investigated the same matter.

A central database could prevent such duplication, he said, questioning the purpose of prescribed investigation deadlines if inquiries could continue against the same person for 32 years.

He added that the commission sometimes loses track of investigations after appointing an investigation officer. When reports are eventually submitted, further queries are issued, prolonging the process and increasing the suffering of innocent people. He stressed the need for an effective solution to reduce such harassment.

ACC sources said the commission led by Iqbal Mahmood had previously undertaken a project to establish a central database, but it never materialised.

However, Abu Hena Mostafa Zaman, the ACC’s current Director General (Administration), told Daily Inqilab that a central database was an important initiative and its establishment was part of the current commission’s plans.