corruption
Anti-corruption drive absent: Menon
Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon on Monday said that the anti-corruption drive of the government has grinded to a halt.
“Corruption is a part of development. But those countries that are on the path of development have taken strict measures to prevent corruption,” he said.
Rashed Khan Menon said this while participating in the discussion of the thanksgiving motion on the President's speech in the Parliament.
He said that China has punished 150,000 persons for various terms on corruption charges.
“Which includes Politburo members. Vietnam has sacked its deputy prime minister. But what have we done in the case of ministers and bureaucrats? No we don’t,” he said.
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Rashed Khan Menon said that he will not talk about defaulted loans and money laundering.
“There has been a lot of talk about this in Parliament. In this case, the government's thinking is like that you can say whatever you want, bit I will not pay any heed,” he said.
Rashed Khan Menon said that the US and western imperialism wanted to involve Bangladesh in their plot of war in Russia and Ukraine, whichnis leading the world towards third world war.
“The Prime Minister has managed to keep Bangladesh away from it so far. And this is why all those forces are so vocal about our elections and democracy.”
Menon made it clear that Bangladesh's democracy and elections are its own affairs.
“They should rather take care of their own matters and talk about others later,” he added.
Criticising BNP, Rashed Khan Menon said that they have given 27 points to repair the state is an attempt to take the state back to the 'illegal fifth amendment era'.
“Their 'Rainbow Nation' stands for abolishing the verdicts of the war criminals trials.”
Zero tolerance against corruption: ACC chairman directs DCs
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah on Wednesday directed the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to show zero tolerance against corruption.
Country’s development is not possible with corruption, the matter has been brought to the notice of the DCs and Divisional Commissioners, he said while talking to reporters on the 2nd day of Deputy Commissioners’ Conference 2023 at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.
The DCs were asked to inform any corruption allegation to the ACC if there is no scope for taking action against anyone, he said.
“We have to prevent corruption at any cost, and whoever it is we are ready to investigate it,” he said.
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When asked about the corruption in the land offices, the ACC chairman said digitisation will help reduce corruption in the land offices to some extent.
Regarding the allegations of corruption against the DCs, he said, “I do not have the authority to give warnings on the issue of corruption. It is in our constitution. In view of that, laws have been made, commissions have been formed.”
He said that if there is any corruption case with merit for investigation, no matter who the person is, an investigation will take place.
President urges people to work unitedly to wipe out corruption, militancy
President Abdul Hamid on Thursday called upon the people of the country to work more unitedly to eliminate corruption, terrorism, drugs and militancy.
The President came up with the call in his speech in the 21st session of the current Parliament that began on Thursday.
He said Bangladesh achieved independence through a bloody war under the leadership of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In this independent sovereign country, the people are the source of all power and the center of all their hopes is great National Parliament.
"You are the people's representatives, so public interest should be placed above everything else. It is our sacred duty to gift a safe, happy, beautiful and prosperous Bangladesh to the new generation," he said.
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The President said that the spirit of the Liberation War and the ideals of the Father of the Nation should be adopted to speed up the development of the country.
He termed Padma Bridge as a symbol of Bangladesh's ability and pride as it was built with its own funding and inaugurated on June 25, 2022.
"More than 3 crore people of the country will benefit directly from it. The construction of the southern tube of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman multi-lane tunnel under the Karnaphuli river has been completed,” he said.
He also said he is hopeful that soon the tunnel will be opened for public use.
President Hamid also congratulated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for launch of the first metro train from Uttara to Agargaon.
Referring the year 2022 as the year of challenges, President Hamid said that the nation and the entire world is going through a difficult time.
Read more: President Hamid urges public representatives to work for the people
"We were able to successfully deal with the Corona pandemic and maintain economic progress but the war between Russia and Ukraine has slowed down our progress," he said.
Hamid said amid the global economic crisis currently the amount of food grain stock in the country is 16.14 lakh metric tons, which is satisfactory.
The President said that pension will be introduced for all citizens above the age of 60 from the fiscal year 2022-23.
Court in Myanmar again finds Suu Kyi guilty of corruption
BANGKOK (AP/UNB) — A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption Friday, sentencing her to seven years in prison in the last of a string of criminal cases against her, a legal official said.
The court’s action leaves her with a total of 33 years to serve in prison after a series of politically tinged prosecutions since the army toppled her elected government in February 2021.
The case that ended Friday involved five offenses under the anti-corruption law and followed earlier convictions on seven other corruption counts, each of which was punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine.
The 77-year-old Suu Kyi has also been convicted of several other offenses, including illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, breaching the country’s official secrets act, sedition and election fraud.
Her previous convictions had landed her with a total of 26 years’ imprisonment.
Suu Kyi’s supporters and independent analysts say the numerous charges against her and her allies are an attempt to legitimize the military’s seizure of power while eliminating her from politics before an election it has promised for 2023.
In the five counts of corruption decided Friday, Suu Kyi was alleged to have abused her position and caused a loss of state funds by neglecting to follow financial regulations in granting permission to Win Myat Aye, a Cabinet member in her former government, to hire, buy and maintain a helicopter.
Suu Kyi was the de facto head of government, holding the title of state counsellor. Win Myint, who was president in her government, was a co-defendant in the same case.
Friday’s verdict in the purpose-built courtroom in the main prison on the outskirts of the capital, Naypyitaw, was made known by a legal official who insisted on anonymity for fear of being punished by the authorities. The trial was closed to the media, diplomats and spectators, and her lawyers were barred by a gag order from talking about it.
The legal official said Suu Kyi received sentences of three years for each of four charges, to be served concurrently, and four years for the charge related to the helicopter purchase, for a total of seven years. Win Myint received the same sentences.
Win Myat Aye, at the center of the case, escaped arrest and is now Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management in the National Unity Government, established by the military's opponents as a parallel administration by elected legislators who were barred from taking their seats when the army seized power last year. The military has declared NUG to be an outlawed “terrorist organization.”
The defendants denied all charges, and her lawyers are expected to appeal in the coming days. The official also said both Suu Kyi and Win Myint appeared to be in good health.
"From start to finish, the junta grabbed whatever it could to manufacture cases against her with full confidence that the country’s kangaroo courts would come back with whatever punitive judgments the military wanted,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in an emailed statement. “Due process and a free and fair trial were never remotely possible under the circumstances of this political persecution against her.”
The end of the court cases against Suu Kyi, at least for now, raises the possibility that she would be allowed outside visitors, which she has been denied since she was detained.
The military government has repeatedly denied all requests to meet with her, including from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which seeks to help mediate an end to the crisis in Myanmar that some United Nations experts have characterized as a civil war because of the armed opposition to military rule.
The U.N., after its special envoy Noeleen Heyzer met in August with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, announced the head of Myanmar’s military-installed government, that he “expressed openness to arranging a meeting at the right time” between her and Suu Kyi.
A statement from the military government said: "Depending on the circumstances after the completion of the judiciary process, we will consider how to proceed.”
Due to her age, the 33 years in prison that Suu Kyi now faces “amount to an effective life sentence against her,” said Robertson.
“The Myanmar junta’s farcical, totally unjust parade of charges and convictions against Aung San Suu Kyi amount to politically motivated punishment designed to hold her behind bars for the rest of her life," he said. “The convictions aim to both permanently sideline her, as well as undermine and ultimately negate her NLD party’s landslide victory in the November 2020 election.”
Suu Kyi is currently being held in a newly constructed separate building in the prison in Naypyitaw, near the courthouse where her trial was held, with three policewomen whose duty is to assist her.
Allowing access to Suu Kyi has been a major demand of the many international critics of Myanmar’s military rulers, who have faced diplomatic and political sanctions for their human rights abuses and suppression of democracy.
Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s martyred independence hero Gen. Aung San, spent almost 15 years as a political prisoner under house arrest between 1989 and 2010.
Her tough stand against the military rule in Myanmar turned her into a symbol of nonviolent struggle for democracy, and won her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
Her National League for Democracy party initially came to power after easily winning the 2015 general election, ushering in a true civilian government for the first time since a 1962 military coup.
But after coming to power, Suu Kyi was criticized for showing deference to the military while ignoring atrocities it is credibly accused of committing in a 2017 crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Her National League for Democracy won a landslide victory again in the 2020 election, but less than three months afterwards, elected lawmakers were kept from taking their seats in Parliament and top members of her government and party were detained.
The army said it acted because there had been massive voting fraud in the 2020 election, but independent election observers did not find any major irregularities.
The army’s takeover in 2021 triggered widespread peaceful protests that security forces tried to crush with deadly forces and that soon erupted into armed resistance.
Myanmar security forces have killed at least 2,685 civilians and arrested 16,651, according to a detailed list compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a non-governmental organization that tracks killings and arrests.
More questions than answers as EU corruption scandal unfolds
No one answers the door or the phone at the offices of the two campaign groups linked to a cash-for-favors corruption scandal at the European Union’s parliament, allegedly involving Qatar. No light is visible inside.
No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ), a pro-human rights and democracy organization, and Fight Impunity, which seeks to bring rights abusers to book, share the same address, on prime real estate in the governmental quarter of the Belgian capital.
The heads of the two organizations are among four people charged since Dec. 9 with corruption, participation in a criminal group and money laundering. Prosecutors suspect certain European lawmakers and aides “were paid large sums of money or offered substantial gifts to influence parliament’s decisions.” The groups themselves do not seem to be under suspicion.
Qatar rejects allegations that it’s involved. The Gulf country that’s hosting the soccer World Cup has gone to considerable trouble to boost its public image and defend itself against extensive criticism in the West over its human rights record.
The lawyer for Fight Impunity President Pier Antonio Panzeri is not talking. He declined to comment about his client’s role in an affair that has shaken the European Parliament and halted the assembly's work on Qatar-related files.
The secretary-general of NPWJ, Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, has left jail but must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. On its Italian website, after he stepped down, the group praised his work, saying it hopes “the ongoing investigation will demonstrate the correctness of his actions.”
Charged along with them are Eva Kaili, who was removed as an EU parliament vice president after the charges were laid, and her partner Francesco Giorgi, a parliamentary assistant. Pictures they've posted on social media project the image of an attractive and ambitious Mediterranean jet-set couple.
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Following months of investigations, police have so far launched more than 20 raids, mostly in Belgium but also in Italy. Hundreds of thousands of euros have been found in Brussels: at an apartment and in a suitcase at a hotel not far from the parliament.
Mobile telephones, computer equipment and the data of 10 parliamentary assistants were seized.
Taking to Twitter, Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne described what he calls the “Qatargate” investigation as a “game changer.” It was achieved, he said, “partly thanks to years of work by State Security,” the country’s intelligence agency.
According to what Italian newspaper La Repubblica and Belgian daily Le Soir said were transcripts of his Dec. 10 statements to prosecutors, Giorgi allegedly confessed to managing money on behalf of an “organization” led by Panzeri that dealt with Qatari and Moroccan representatives.
“I did it all for money, which I needed,’’ Giorgi told prosecutors, according to La Repubblica. He tried to protect his partner Kaili, a 44-year-old Greek former TV presenter with whom he has an infant daughter, asking that she be released from jail. Kaili’s lawyer has said she knew nothing about the money.
Giorgi arrived in Belgium in 2009. He made a career at the parliament with the center-left Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group. He met Panzeri, at the time an EU lawmaker, at a conference. “I asked him to give me an internship, and he did,’’ Giorgi said in his statement.
Panzeri became his mentor, made him an assistant and introduced him around, the Italian newspaper said. Giorgi expressed relief that the scheme had been uncovered. He described himself as a simple person who got in over his head due to a moral obligation he felt toward Panzeri.
Up until his arrest, Giorgi worked as an assistant for another S&D lawmaker, Andrea Cozzolino. Italy’s center-left Democratic Party suspended Cozzolino on Friday while the probe goes on. He temporarily withdrew from the S&D.
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In Italy last weekend, Panzeri’s wife, Maria Dolores Colleoni, and daughter, Silvia Panzeri, were taken into custody on a European arrest warrant. A court in Brescia ordered them to be placed under house arrest, one of their lawyers told AP.
On Friday, a Milan judicial source confirmed to AP that 17,000 euros ($18,075) were seized during a search of Panzeri’s house, where his wife is staying, in Calusco d’Adda in the Bergamo province northeast of Milan. Police also seized computers, cell phones, watches and documents.
Police separately found a key to a safe deposit box in the house of Giorgi’s parents in the Milan suburb of Abbiategrasso, leading investigators to discover 20,000 euros ($21,260) in cash.
Panzeri’s wife is expected to appear in court again on Monday, when a panel of judges will decide whether to extradite her to Belgium. A similar hearing will be held Tuesday for their daughter. Kaili is due to face court in Brussels on Thursday.
The source in Milan, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, said Italian investigators were looking at other people but declined to identify them. The source said they were not EU lawmakers or people associated with the campaign groups.
Many questions remain unanswered about the scandal. What Qatari officials, if any, were involved? Why target the EU’s parliament? How wide is the investigators' net? What was the role of Panzeri, the former lawmaker and president of Fight Impunity?
No light shines in his office, but Panzeri’s own words on his group’s website could point the way: “Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ If we are to continue to move towards justice, accountability must be our guiding light.”
President for ostracising the corrupt for combatting corruption
To combat corruption, President Abdul Hamid has called on everyone to ostracise the corrupt as their "dominance can now be seen everywhere – in towns, cities and villages."
"There was a time when there was no social acceptance of bribe takers, usurers and the corrupt. But with the passage of time, that value has gradually eroded. Now there is a dominance of the corrupt everywhere in towns, cities and villages. No one cares about the source of the money anymore."
He said this at a discussion held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day on Friday, which is observed globally on December 9 to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it.
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The president also asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to take effective and bold steps to combat corruption.
Earlier, ACC Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah also called on everyone to identify the corrupt and ostracise them.
He made the call while standing in a human chain formed in front of the ACC headquarters in the capital's Segunbagicha, marking International Anti-Corruption Day.
International Anti-Corruption Day is being observed in eight divisions, 64 districts and 495 upazilas of the country.
Read: President Hamid urges public representatives to work for the people
International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development. At its core is the notion that tackling this crime is the right and responsibility of everyone, and that only through cooperation and the involvement of every person and institution can we overcome the negative impact of this crime.
States, government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, media representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, the public and youth alike all have a role to play in this.
ACC chief bats for identifying the corrupt, ostracising them
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah Friday called on everyone to identify the corrupt and ostracise them.
He made the call while standing in a human chain formed in front of the ACC headquarters in the capital's Segunbagicha, marking International Anti-Corruption Day, which is observed globally on December 9 to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it.
The anti-corruption watchdog chief said: "Once Bangladesh ranked as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Things have changed now. But corruption cannot be rooted out overnight. It will gradually disappear."
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Requesting everyone to identify the corrupt, he said: "You know who the corrupt are. Boycott them socially."
International Anti-Corruption Day is being observed in eight divisions, 64 districts and 495 upazilas of the country.
International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development. At its core is the notion that tackling this crime is the right and responsibility of everyone, and that only through cooperation and the involvement of every person and institution can we overcome the negative impact of this crime.
Read: Basic Bank loan scam: HC orders ACC to complete probe in 3 months
States, government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, media representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, the public and youth alike all have a role to play in this.
HC clears way to continue graft case against BNP leader Dulu
The High Court (HC) on Monday cleared the way to resume the trial of BNP’s Rangpur division organizing secretary Asadul Habib Dulu in a corruption case filed 12 years ago for amassing wealth beyond known sources of income.
The HC bench of Justices Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khijir Hayat cancelled its previous ruling that stayed the trial proceeding against the BNP leader.
It also asked the judicial court to dispose of the case within one year.
During the hearing, Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik stood for the state, while Md Khurshid Alam Khan and Abdur Razzak Khan represented the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the accused, respectively.
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On January 21, 2009, the ACC filed a case against Dulu with Lalmonirhat Sadar Police Station, accusing him of amassing wealth illegally. The anti-graft watchdog also submitted a charge sheet the same year.
Dulu lodged a petition with the HC which then issued a rule staying the trial of the case on August 25, 2010.
HC seeks explanation over irregularities of Tk 472 crore in BPC’s SAOCL
The High Court on Sunday issued a rule seeking explanation as to why the inaction of the authorities concerned in taking action against those involved in the irregularities of Tk 472 crore of Standard Asiatic Oil Company, a subsidiary of BPC, should not be declared illegal.
The HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat issued the suo moto rule after taking a report, published in an English daily, into congnisance.
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The HC also wanted to know what steps have been taken in connection with the embezzlement of the money from the subsidiary of Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
It also asked the Auditor General and chairman of BPC to submit a progress report before the court within November 20.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Auditor General and the BPC Chairman have been made respondent s to the rule, said ACC counsel Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan.
On November 4, an English daily published a report headlined ‘A BPC concern robs state coffers of Tk 472.7cr’.
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ACC lawyer Khurshid drew the attention of the court in this regard.
According to the report, the government has been deprived of Tk 472.7 crore for 21 counts of irregularities by Standard Asiatic Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, found an audit.
The disclosure comes after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pored over the company's books from fiscal 2012-13 to 2019-20 and made field visits.
Standard Asiatic Oil Company (SAOCL), which is a 50-50 joint venture between the BPC and the Asiatic Industries, is involved in the blending and marketing of engine oil and lubricating oil for vehicles; the marketing of diesel oil; the marketing and distribution of bitumen, liquefied petroleum gas and furnace oil; and supplying jet fuel to aircraft at Cox's Bazar International Airport, it said.
The anomalies include embezzlement by top officials, high rates, overtime, missing funds, irregularities in payment of litigation fees and violation of the Income Tax Ordinance and VAT Rules, the report added.
CSOs demand investigations into irregularities in dredger pilotage, repair
Civil society organisations (CSOs) on Wednesday demanded transparency and accountability in the pilotage and repair of dredgers used in river excavation and regular silt removal.
They also demanded the formation of an independent probe committee to report on the irregularities and corruption in the sector in the last three years to stop the misuse and wastage of public funds.
Twenty-three representatives of different non-government organisations came up with the demand in a joint statement.
According to the statement, the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) dredges rivers and regularly removes sediments from waterways to maintain navigable waterways. For this, the BIWTA has the required number of vessels, including 45 dredgers. There are separate dredger bases under BIWTA's dredging department to maintain, operate and repair these.
The CSO representatives said there are allegations of widespread financial irregularities and corruption in the management and repair of dredgers and auxiliary vessels.
They demanded the formation of an independent investigation committee of experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the Bangladesh Marine Academy to investigate irregularities and corruption.
Also, to ensure transparency and accountability, the CSO representatives demanded the disclosure of sector-wise expenditures to the media and the public online every month.
Read more: NCPSRR wants transparency in river dredging, silt removal
The signatories of the statement are Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice-President SM Nazar Hossain, Freedom Fighter Nurur Rahman Salim, Nagorik Udyog Chief Executive Zakir Hossain, Udichi Shilpa Goshthi General Secretary Amit Ranjan Dey, Green Club of Bangladesh Executive President Mohammad Shahid Mia, former general secretary of Dhaka Reporters Unity Raju Ahmed, National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways General Secretary Ashis Kumar Dey, and marine engineer Abdul Hamid.
Coordinator of Sundarban and Upokul Surokkha Andolon Nikhil Chandra Bhadra, Vice-President of Dhaka Sangbadik Union Manik Lal Ghosh, Executive Director of Poverty Immunization Assistance Center for Everywhere Ifma Hussain, Member Secretary of Unyanan Dhara Trust Aminur Rasul Babul, President of Alokita Garments Sramik Federation Bappidev Borman, Executive Director of Dwip Unnoyan Sangstha Rafiqul Alam, Executive Director of Media Forum for Human Rights and Environmental Development Rafiqul Islam Sabuj also signed the statement.
Bangladesh Hawkers Union General Secretary Shekender Hayat, Writer Rajan Bhattacharya, Central Coordinator of Janalok Rafiqul Islam Sujan, Convener of Sachetan Sangstha Shakila Parveen, President of Committee to Protect River and Coast Kamruzzaman Nashim, Joint Secretary of Dhaka North City Citizen Forum Mostafa Kamal Akand, President of Old Dhaka Nagorik Udyog Nazim Uddin and Convenor of Mukti Shikha Jihad Arif are the other signatories.
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