Political elites took money to help corrupt individuals flee after 5 Aug: ACC chief

Bangla Press Desk:  Currently active political elites facilitated the escape of corrupt individuals through the country’s borders in exchange for huge sums of money after 5 August 2024, said Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Dr Mohammad Abdul Momen on Tuesday.

He did not specify any group of elites or individual who took bribes, but urged people to reconsider casting votes for these “elites” in the general elections in February.

The ACC chief made the remarks while addressing a discussion organised by his organisation at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day.

Dr Momen said corruption has penetrated “into every vein of society”, but insisted that it is still possible to gradually eradicate it. Highlighting a major challenge, he said Bangladesh has almost no effective communication with the countries where large sums of laundered money have been siphoned off over the past 15 years.

“Our hard-earned money now lies abroad as ‘dirty money,’ but we do not even have the manpower needed to recover or manage these funds,” he said.

The ACC chief said that financial flows have reversed over the years. Previously, remittances used to flow from the Middle East and the United States to Bangladesh. Now it is the opposite — money goes from Bangladesh to the US and other countries and later returns here through different channels, with various “incentives” built into the transactions. “Such a large structure cannot be changed in a day, a month, or even a year,” he added.

Issuing a strong warning against political influence, he claimed that “Those who committed crimes over the past 15 years were helped to flee by the political elite in exchange for huge sums of money. People must now think carefully about whether they will elect such individuals.”

Dr Momen said that even if voters overwhelmingly support anti-corruption measures, eliminating corruption remains extremely difficult. “If extortionists, criminals and poor governors are kept in power after the next election, the dream of becoming a developed country will be hard to achieve,” he said, urging the public not to vote for those who helped corrupt individuals escape after the fall of the previous government.

He further said the ACC currently has no institutional communication with the countries where illicit funds have been moved. He called on the government to deploy First Secretary–level officers to those nations to support efforts to bring back laundered money.

Referring to the scale of corruption during the Awami League’s rule, he noted that many individuals fled the country after 5 August last year — including the Chief Justice and even the Khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque. “This shows how deep corruption had reached. If strict action had been taken earlier, we would not have suffered for 15–16 years,” he said.

The ACC chairman also cited discrepancies in deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s 2008 election affidavit, saying that while she declared 5.21 acres of agricultural land, investigations later found 29 acres. He added that two vehicles unaccounted for in her declaration were traced — one in the name of a former MP and the other of a former junior minister — both originally purchased for the ‘5 No. Sudha Sadan’ residence without government subsidy.

“If these inconsistencies had been detected at the time, her nomination would have been cancelled, and she could not have become an MP or the Prime Minister. Whether her party would have come to power at all would also have been uncertain,” he added.

Calling for voters to reject corrupt and extortionist candidates in the upcoming national election, Dr Momen said corruption cannot be curbed unless the public takes a firm stance.

He also urged the country’s youth to actively join the anti-corruption movement. “The corrupt celebrate every day. One day of awareness activities is not enough to rein them in,” he said.

Earlier in the morning, the ACC opened its day-long programmes with a flag-raising ceremony and balloon release at its Segunbagicha headquarters. A human chain involving various government and private organisations was later held to promote anti-corruption awareness.

ACC Commissioners Miah Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi and Brigadier General (Retd) Hafiz Ahsan Farid, ACC Directors General, and senior officials from different government bodies attended the event, along with leaders of the anti-corruption journalists’ group Report Against Corruption (RAC).

BP/SP