Non-functional ACC hinders filing many sensitive cases

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is facing a procedural deadlock in initiating prosecutions against many sensitive persons including former DGFI Director General Lt Gen Retd Sheikh Mamun Khaled and his wife despite sufficient and irrefutable evidence, as the commission remains non-functional following the resignation of its leadership on March 3.

According to ACC sources, the investigation into Mamun Khaled, his wife Nigar Sultana Khaled and their family is now in its final stage after nearly a year of inquiry into allegations of large-scale extortion from businessmen and industrialists, embezzlement in the Jalsiri housing project, illegal acquisition of wealth and money laundering. 

Investigators have already compiled extensive documentary evidence, while the couple has been under a court imposed travel ban since May 22 last year.

However, officials said that no case can be filed and no arrest can be effected under ACC jurisdiction without commission approval, leaving the case in limbo. In contrast, another figure linked to the One Eleven period, Lt Gen Retd Masududdin Chowdhury, is facing multiple pending cases and potential arrest under existing legal frameworks.

ACC Director General Special Investigation Mir Md Zainul Abedin Shibli confirmed that "the probe is in its final stage" but added that "a case can be filed only after receiving the approval of the commission".

Mamun Khaled, who served as DGFI chief from 2011 to 2013 and earlier as Director of the Counter Intelligence Bureau during the caretaker regime of 2007 to 2008, later held key state positions including Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh University of Professionals and Commandant of the National Defence College. He faces allegations of unlawful phone surveillance of political opponents and business figures, using recorded conversations for extortion, staging fabricated militant incidents and orchestrating large scale corruption in the Jalsiri project. Although an internal military inquiry reportedly recommended punitive measures, those recommendations were not enforced.

On condition of anonymity the source further alleged that Mamun Khaled attempted to flee the country with his family following political developments in July 2024, but was prevented due to the existing travel ban. He was subsequently arrested from his residence in Pallabi DOHS on March 25 and is currently on a five-day remand in connection with a murder case.

ACC officials acknowledged that the institutional vacuum has paralysed critical functions. "Without the commission, it is not possible to take many important decisions stipulated in the ACC Act. As a result, a kind of deadlock has been created in the activities," said ACC Director General Akhter Hossain. He added that "investigations and inquiries approved earlier are continuing on a limited scale, but no new investigations or cases can be approved".

Officials further warned that in the absence of the commission, legal steps such as approving investigations, filing new cases, submitting charge sheets, attaching properties or seeking court orders to restrict foreign travel cannot be undertaken, creating "a risk of the accused going into hiding or leaving the country" and significantly slowing the overall anti corruption drive.