Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Monday said India should come out from its negative attitude towards ‘New Bangladesh’ as the fall of the authoritarian regime is the biggest political, diplomatic and strategic defeat for India in its history. “We feel that India can’t accept the biggest political, diplomatic and strategic defeat in its history. They do not have the courage to admit it,” said TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman at a press conference. The press conference was arranged at its office in the capital’s Dhanmondi area to share TIB observations over the first 100 days of new Bangladesh after the fall of the authoritarian regime. The TIB Executive Director said new directions have been opened up in Bangladesh's relations with all countries in terms of mutual assistance and cooperation in the current context. “We expect the same to happen (in the relations) with India,” he said. He said India cannot play the expected ‘positive role’ or show ‘positive attitude’ following the ‘positive change’ in Bangladesh as India is unable to accept its politically, diplomatically and strategically biggest defeat in the history.  “They (India) are still seeing Bangladesh through the prism that supports this authoritarianism (in Bangladesh),” said Dr Iftekharuzzaman. So, it has created a huge risk for playing the role of a catalyst (by India) in some cases of the creation of possible destabilisation in Bangladesh, he added. Judiciary facilitated authoritarianism under Sheikh Hasina: TIB Executive Director The TIB executive director said many people had the perception that ‘liberal thinking’ was promoted in Indian political space, people and media. “We think India has changed (from that liberal thinking).” He said the way Indian media are projecting Bangladesh is at least risky and definitely a ‘disturbing factor’ for Bangladesh. “It has created an embarrassing situation for us (Bangladesh). But we also think it is very embarrassing and shaming for India itself. So, India has to move away from this path,” said Dr Iftekharuzzaman. He appreciated the role of the interim government of Bangladesh regarding the bilateral relations with India as it is always for keeping the door open. “We always talk about keeping the door open. India is our biggest neighbour. We would like to maintain a positive relation with India. The role of India in this regard is the most important,” he said. Noting there are risks in the transitional process of Bangladesh, the TIB Executive Director said India's role can be positive, and very negative in every case. “That risk must be kept in mind,” he said. Earlier, TIB senior research fellow Shahzada M Akram presented the report of a study titled ‘New Bangladesh Observations on the First 100 Days after the Fall of the Authoritarian Regime’ in the event. In his report, Akram said India’s failure to accept the reality of the fall of authoritarianism and to admit its mistakes, combined with the conspiratorial actions of the deposed government in India may destabilize the transition process, and, above all, the strained diplomatic relations with India may remain worrisome for the government and Bangladesh. He said the Indian government, politicians, and media fail to accept the reality of the fall of the authoritarian government by the mass uprising. India expressed concerns about the security of minority communities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh, while purposeful misinformation and rumours spread in Indian media and social media, he added. Despite Bangladesh's strong protests, 'border killings' continue, said the TIB official. In the report, he said, the attitude of the international community towards the interim government is positive. “Support for the peaceful and democratic transition of Bangladesh has been expressed by various countries and organizations, including the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Iran, the European Union and the United Nations,” he said. He said various international organisations have pledged to provide financial and other support to the interim government. Adviser of TIB’s Executive Management Prof Dr Sumaiya Khair, TIB Research and Policy Director Muhammad Badiuzzaman and TIB Outreach and Communications Director Muhammad Tauhidul Islam were present.  

Bangladesh loses approximately $13 billion every year to illicit financial outflows, creating significant challenges in recovering this vast amount, according to Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB).  He highlighted the issue while addressing a seminar titled ‘Odious Debt & Recovery of Bangladesh’s Laundered Wealth’, organised by the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) and Sombabonar Bangladesh at the ERF Auditorium in Dhaka’s Paltan on Saturday. Dr Iftekharuzzaman emphasised the urgent need to hold financial criminals accountable, stating that “money launderers must face consequences, and anti-money laundering agencies should be made answerable to prevent future incidents.”  Appoint ACC leadership above political, bureaucratic influences: TIB He noted that while the government has initiated efforts to curb financial crime, stronger advocacy from civil society and political platforms is necessary to develop a sustainable anti-smuggling system. Reflecting on the recent efforts by Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Dr Iftekharuzzaman said that in previous years, these institutions had been accused of overlooking money laundering activities under autocratic influence.  However, he acknowledged that the central bank has now ramped up its efforts to tackle money laundering and to recover laundered funds. “But this should be turned into a sustainable system for the future." Dr Iftekharuzzaman also pointed to conditional requirements imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) aimed at curbing loans to fictitious companies, but criticised the lack of action.  “Despite IMF conditions to halt loans to fake and paper-based companies, the practice persists,” he said.  Corruption rate in roads and highways sector was 23-40% in 15 years: TIB He added that Islami and other banks had allegedly lost funds to paper-based companies in fraudulent schemes – a practice, he noted, which Bangladesh Bank has since acknowledged.  Meanwhile, many legitimate companies fulfilling all requirements struggle to obtain loans. The seminar’s keynote paper was presented by Anisuzzaman Chowdhury, Emeritus Professor at Western Sydney University, Australia.  Other speakers included Professor Jasim Uddin Ahmed, former Vice-Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, and Nayem Chowdhury, economist and founder of Astra Gattaca Oppenheimer in the USA.  The programme was moderated by a senior journalist and former editor of the Daily New Nation Mostafa Kamal Majumder.

The corruption rate from the government's allocation for the roads and highways sector was between 23 to 40 percent during the period of fiscal year FY 2009-10 to FY 2022-23. The government allocated Tk 169,449 crore for the Roads and Highways Department, of which 23-40 percent or equivalent to Tk 29,230 crore and Tk 50,835 crore was embezzled, said a report of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). The anti-graft watchdog published this report in the capital on Wednesday (October 9). Executive Director of TIB Dr Iftekharuzzaman said a syndicate involving politicians, bureaucrats and contractors were involved in corruption while implementing projects for public interest. These corruption was institutionalized from lower level to the highest level and around 40-43 percent of the money went missing in the bribery of Roads and Highways Department, he pointed out. "Now if we cannot break the tripartite syndicate, no anti-corruption programme will succeed," he said. Read: 'Cancellation of textbook review committee a risky compromise with radicals': TIB In response to a query Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, “We sought information about various projects of the Roads and Highways Department, we were denied a lot of information. Our expectation is that information is disclosed publicly, but the reality is that some people have been removed from the organisation but the institutional practices have not been changed yet.” Responding to another question, the Executive Director of TIB said, "Our research report is only about the projects under implementation with domestic financing. However, there were corruption in foreign-funded projects as well." According to the researchers, the projects completed between the FY2017-18 to FY2021-22 were included in the scope of this study (the implementation period of these projects is from FY2010-11 to FY2018-19). Read more: TIB urges reform of Information Commission, amendments to RTI Act  

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is prioritizing international organizations over climate-vulnerable countries in granting funds, contradicting its core principles, according to Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB). This has resulted in developing nations like Bangladesh being deprived of necessary support. TIB’s findings highlight GCF’s failures in fulfilling its mandate over the last 12 years, including inadequate fund collection from developed countries and the imposition of loans instead of grants on climate-vulnerable nations. TIB released the research “Accessing Green Climate Fund (GCF) for Vulnerable Countries like Bangladesh: Governance Challenges and Way Forward” during a press conference in Dhaka. This study, conducted from January 2023 to May 2024, used both qualitative and quantitative methods. UZ elections: Predominance of businessmen points to era of politics for profit, says TIB TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman criticized GCF’s stringent conditions, which have nearly barred developing countries from accessing funds. He emphasized that GCF’s failure to adhere to its principles has led to significant delays in fund transfers and insufficient grant amounts for the intended recipients. Dr. Iftekharuzzaman pointed out the GCF's preferential treatment of international organizations like the UNDP, IDB, ADB, and EBRD, calling it unacceptable and contradictory to the GCF’s mission. He also highlighted the problematic shift towards loans over grants, burdening countries like Bangladesh with additional financial strain. Furthermore, despite corruption allegations, the UNDP’s accreditation was renewed, undermining GCF’s zero-tolerance policy on corruption. DUJ, DRU, TIB condemn ban on journalists entering Bangladesh Bank The research revealed that GCF’s recognition process is overly complex and time-consuming, hindering vulnerable countries like Bangladesh from directly receiving funds. It found a disproportionate focus on mitigation over adaptation, with GCF failing to achieve a balanced 50:50 funding ratio or set a timeline for this goal. Despite the need for USD 215 to 387 billion, GCF provided only USD 5.9 billion for adaptation in developing countries. The study also noted a worrying trend of increasing loans compared to grants, contrary to the Polluters-pay-Principle that mandates developed countries to provide grant-based climate finance. Currently, 40.6% of GCF’s finance is in loans, while 41.6% is in grants, adding financial pressure on already burdened countries. In Bangladesh, the selection of the National Designated Authority (NDA) for GCF has been criticized for lack of transparency and clear policies. The accreditation process for government entities has seen significant delays, with four entities yet to receive accreditation after five years of attempts. A Bangladeshi organization had to wait two years for accreditation due to insufficient support from the GCF Secretariat. Arbitrary introduction of mergers caused further unrest in banking sector: TIB The analysis of GCF project financing revealed that Bangladesh has received inadequate funding for its climate needs. Of the USD 12 billion required by mid-2025, only USD 1.18 billion (9.9%) has been approved from various sources, with USD 448.8 million allocated from readiness and GCF funds (3.7%). Furthermore, GCF has allocated USD 256.4 million (76.9%) for mitigation projects and USD 76.8 million (23.1%) for adaptation projects in Bangladesh, with 75% of these funds as loans and only 25% as grants. Disbursement has been slow, with only 13.3% of funds released for Bangladesh's nine GCF projects, including a three-year delay for the first instalment of one project. The press conference featured TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Adviser-Executive Management Professor Dr. Sumaiya Khair, Director of Research and Policy Muhammad Badiuzzaman, and Senior Research Fellow Md. Mahfuzul Haque. The event was led by TIB Director of Outreach and Communication Mohammad Tauhidul Islam, with research presentations by Research Fellow Newazul Moula and Research Associate Md. Shahidul Islam. TIB voices concern on relaxing wealth statement provision for govt servants  

Awami League General Secretary and Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader today (January 18, 2024) said that the report of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is “one-sided and anti-government.”  “They (TIB) are agents of BNP,” he said at a press briefing at the Awami League president’s office in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi this afternoon. “TIB speaks in the tune of BNP. History says that they were always against Awami League. They speak for BNP. We could not find impartiality of their research,” said the AL leader. “There are some organisations that talk about accidents. If a hundred die, they say five hundred died. TIB is like them. TIB and CPD said Padma Bridge is impossible. Filing a case doesn’t solve everything. Some are said for public perception. They will be dealt with politically,” he said. Read more: Top 5% contractors account for 26% market share in government procurement: TIB TIB in its report on Wednesday said Bangladesh’s 12th parliamentary election was “not free and not inclusive.” Quader acknowledged the existence of political tactics and conflicts within parties, asserting, “Conflicts are inherent in politics, and Awami League navigates through them under the leadership of Sheikh Hasina. The party remains united in addressing challenges wherever they arise.” Addressing upcoming local government elections, Quader said, “Decisions regarding local government elections, including upazilas, and the use of party symbols will be finalized in the Awami League board meeting.” When asked who would be the opposition party in the parliament, Quader responded, “Clarity on the opposition party will emerge once the session commences.” Regarding commodity prices, Quader noted, “Sheikh Hasina has provided instructions on commodity prices. Ministries are formulating action plans based on the ground reality, including price control measures.” Read more: Even if action can’t be taken now, strong measures will be taken after election: Quader on those whose wealth saw abnormal increase The press briefing was attended by AL Organizing Secretary BM Mozammel Haque, SM Kamal Hossain, Sujit Roy Nandi, among other leaders.

Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has said that action will be taken after the election against those whose wealth increased abnormally. “Even if action cannot be taken at the moment as the government is only conducting routine work, strong measures will be taken after the election,” Quader said in response to a question referring to Transparency International Bangladesh’s (TIB) allegation of discrepancies in the affidavits submitted by the aspirants for the upcoming 12th parliamentary election. Read: AL Pledges to Expand Modern Urban Facilities to Every Village in Smart Bangladesh  The Awami League general secretary made the remarks at a press conference on contemporary issues at the party’s central office in Dhanmondi this afternoon (December 28, 2023).  In its report, TIB questioned the authenticity of candidates’ income, wealth, loans, and debt disclosed to the Election Commission.  The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) accused a minister, who remains unnamed, of owning “undisclosed overseas companies” engaged in real estate business abroad, with total assets valued at around Tk 2,312 crore. Commenting on BNP's movement, Quader said the party has lost the support of the people.  “If there was public support [for BNP’s movement], no party would have to carry out sneak attacks to oust the government,” said the AL general secretary.  Read: In Smart Bangladesh Awami League pledges more safeguards for minorities, end of intolerance  Calling the incidents of violence in different constituencies “isolated,” Obaidul Quader said, "It is normal. No candidate will boycott the election.”  The candidates want to bring voters to the polling centres by convincing them, he said. 

Top five percent contractors account for 26% market share of government procurement, according to a  Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) study unveiled today. Although the implementation of online-based government procurement (e-GP) in Bangladesh is almost a decade old, it has not been able to create an environment of fair competition, but the three-way nexus of government departments, political influential groups and contractors has given a new dimension to it, it said. TIB made the remarks at a press conference on the occasion of the release of a research report titled "E-Government Procurement in Bangladesh: Trends Analysis of Competitive Practices (2012-2023)". TIB rejects Cabinet-nodded Cyber Security Act-2023 “The e-GP process started as a very important positive step in Bangladesh, with the main goal of ensuring transparency and open competitive procurement in the public sector. E-GP has facilitated procurement processes, reduced processing costs, but market capture and monopolization in bid submissions and submissions has continued and has actually been institutionalised,” said TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman. "The main message of our report is that a kind of market capture process has become fairly institutionalized in the government procurement process. However, the main purpose of e-GP was to control and prevent this market share,” he said. The share of work of the top five percent contractors is increasing every year, on an average; about 30 percent of the work is in the hands of these contractors, said the TIB report. The share of work done by the top five percent of contractors is increasing every year. On an average, these big contractors are getting more than 26 percent of the work and the bottom 10 percent of the contractors are getting only two to three percent of the work, it said. TIB for formation of national green-skills strategy for youths  “Such a situation cannot in any way ensure the highest value of public money. We believe that due to political influence and three-way nexus of contractors with public procurement companies, on the one hand, the expected benefits of e-GP are not being achieved, on the other hand, there is a massive monopoly of the public procurement process,” he also said. “Overall, we believe that if there is a will, the authorities can identify the weaknesses in the procurement process and take adequate action through the analysis of the existing data in the government database,” added the TIB executive director. TIB urges involvement of relevant stakeholders in revising guidelines for foreign election observers At the time, TIB presented six recommendations for the consideration of the concerned authorities in the interest of making e-GP free and competitive. TIB Outreach and Communication Department Director Sheikh Manzur-e-Alam moderated the programme while Mohammad Touhidul Islam, coordinator of the same department, presented the keynote paper.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), a civil society watchdog, has again called for the repeal of the Digital Security Act on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.  The Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International, which fights corruption globally, also called upon the government to create a congenial environment to ensure all basic rights including security of life of the media workers. The organisation made the demands at a media release signed by its Director (Outreach and Communication) Sheikh Manjur E Alam on Tuesday. TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, “The government should ensure a congenial environment for the media so that they can perform their duties without any obstruction as the fourth pillar of the country.” He said although the number of media increased in the country remarkably, on the other hand fearless journalism also decreased. Read more: Free journalist Shams, repeal DSA: TIB “They are being obstructed due to harassment, attacks and lawsuits by the use of state mechanisms under the shadow of those in power,” he said. The TIB executive director noted that Bangladesh slid 10 places in the ‘2022 World Press Freedom Index’, placing  162nd out of 180 countries. The 2023 index is slated for release this week by Reporters Without Borders, also known by its French acronym RSF (Reporters sans frontières). Iftekharuzzaman alleged that the DSA has been abusedleading to journalists being implicated in one out of every four cases filed under the act. Journalists now engage in self-censorship due to attacks on the media workers, lack of justice and fear of the DSA, he added.  

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Friday asked the Bangladesh government to reconsider and if necessary cancel what it calls the vague and inequitable power purchase agreement with Adani Group. “TIB expressed deep concern that the Bangladesh's power sector may become hostage to this controversial company if the unequal, opaque and discriminatory contract signed by Bangladesh Power Development Board to purchase 1600 megawatt electricity from India's Adani, which is an accused of share fraud, is implemented,” said a press release. This organization suggested bringing applicable amendments to this agreement after reviewing its terms thoroughly by engaging experts, or if necessary scraping the agreement for the sake of the national interest especially considering that the final burden of this agreement should be borne by the people of the country. Read more: Amid standoff over tariff, transmission lines for electricity from Adani plant completed According to national and international media reports, the electricity generated from the Adani power plant located in Godda, Jharkhand will cost almost three times more than the electricity produced in the country. Again, there is an obligation in the power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy power from Adani Power at this high price, it said. TIB Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said this agreement is considered as inequitable and unclear and unprecedentedly discriminatory contract for Bangladesh by the international reliable analysis. “It seems that the agreement has ignored the interests of Bangladesh and favored the interests of Adani group in such a way that the electricity sector of Bangladesh can become a hostage in the hands of this company. This burden will have to be borne by the people of this country,” he said.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) on Thursday expressed its concern over an international media report on the Bangladesh government's purchase of highly controversial surveillance technology from Israel. In the absence of specific policies, the use of such technology will pose a serious risk of undermining several fundamental constitutional rights, the graft watchdog body said in a statement on Thursday. Read more: Govt on track to introduce ‘lawful interception system’ to monitor social media, thwart anti-state activities: Home Minister tells JS People have the right to know the answer to the fundamental question that such a terrible tool was bought with public tax money according to which specific law and policy, for what purpose, in what context, in whose interest it will be used, it said. According to a report by the Israeli media Haaretz, Bangladesh bought surveillance technology from a company run by a former Israeli intelligence commander, which arrived here in June last year. In this regard, TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said people have the right to know the government's precise explanation regarding the purchase and use of technology that undermines the privacy, security, freedom of speech and expression of people's personal information and communications and, above all, threatens the lives and livelihoods of individuals. “Nothing was purchased directly from Israel’ -- the government's interpretation does not mean that this Israeli technology was not imported,” he said. The published news clearly mentions that the purchase was made through intermediaries in Cyprus at a cost of around Tk 60 crore due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Bangladesh, he added. The National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) commander and other senior officials even visited Greece in 2021 and 2022 to learn how to operate this technology, Iftekharuzzaman said, referring to the Israeli media report. Read more: Critical information infrastructure list is questionable: TIB “If this information is false, it is the responsibility of the authorities concerned and the government to prove it. After all, there is no room for doubt that this technology has already reached the relevant agencies of the government.” “There is no option to use this technology until a concrete policy involving all parties is formulated to ensure the constitutional rights of individuals. If not, Bangladesh will be considered as a completely surveillance-based state by trampling public interest,” he said.