Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen on Tuesday said that if anyone attempts to exert undue pressure on the commission to obstruct corruption investigations their name will be made public.
He made the remarks at a views-exchange meeting held at the ACC conference room in Segunbagicha as part of the commission’s founding anniversary programme.
Responding to a question on whether the ACC faces external pressure, Momen said, “If you are not corrupt and you stand firm, you will face less pressure. Those who try to influence you will also think twice before doing so.”
“I believe the ACC alone cannot curb corruption across Bangladesh,” he said responding to another question.
Expressing hope for a timely and fair election, he said people have previously seen the dominance of black money in elections and it may happen again.
He called for tougher punishment for corrupt people daying, “If someone embezzles Tk 10 crore and expend Tk 1 crore here or there they still profit Tk 9 crore. But if the penalty for embezzling Tk 10 crore is a fine of Tk 100 crore, they won’t dare do it.”
The ACC Chairman said the Commission wants candidates’ affidavits (asset declarations) before the Election Commission receives them.
“There is very little time between the submission and finalisation of affidavits. If the government mandated that affidavits be submitted to the ACC first, we could form a task force. We may not be able to review all, but we could at least check the major suspects before sending our findings to the EC.”
Addressing journalists, he said, “We have very limited time. You blow the whistle, we will try our best to investigate with our available resources.”
Regarding steps to curb the use of black money, he said, “Our resources and manpower are limited. We will see whether we can form a 5–7 member team for the task.”
Responding to a query on the progress of investigation into corruption allegations involving personal staff of advisers, he said, “We had four files. The inquiries are nearing completion. The work is not fully done yet. Once completed, everyone will know.”
ACC Commissioners Miah Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi and Brigadier General (Retd.) Hafiz Ahsan Farid and Secretary Mohammad Khaled Rahim also attended the meeting.