Legal notice over ACC official's remark on Asif Mahmud

A legal notice has been served on Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Public Relations Officer and Deputy Director Akhtarul Islam, demanding the unconditional withdrawal of his statement that "prima facie evidence" of corruption had been found against National Citizen Party (NCP) spokesperson Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan.

Asif Mahmud disclosed the matter in a post on his verified Facebook page on Friday.

According to the post, Akhtarul Islam told a press conference on September 2 that "prima facie evidence" had been found regarding allegations of irregularities in transfers, appointments and promotions during Asif Mahmud's tenure as an adviser. The statement was subsequently reported by several media outlets and widely circulated on social media.

Asif Mahmud contends that making such a statement before the completion of any investigation, and without placing concrete evidence in the public domain, effectively subjected him to a "media trial". He says the statement created the impression that the allegations had already been established, damaging his personal and political reputation.

The legal notice also points out that Akhtarul Islam later sent a message to the WhatsApp group of journalists covering the ACC beat, saying the reference to "prima facie evidence" had been made "inadvertently" and requesting reporters to omit the phrase from their reports.

However, the notice says the statement made at the public press conference was never formally withdrawn, corrected or clarified in the same public forum.

It also questions the factual basis of allegations concerning the cancellation of "current charge", or acting duties, of Upazila Youth Development Officers. While the allegation reportedly referred to the cancellation of the current charge of 38 officers, the notice says the acting duties of 112 officers had actually been revoked.

According to the notice, the ministry took the decision in compliance with an order of the Administrative Appeal Tribunal.

The notice also terms baseless the allegation linking Asif Mahmud to the promotion of 150 Assistant Upazila Youth Development Officers to Upazila Youth Development Officer.

It points out that Asif Mahmud resigned as adviser on December 10, 2025, while the promotions in question were made on May 11, 2026-nearly five months after his resignation and around three months after the BNP formed the government.

Against this backdrop, the notice has called on the ACC official to unconditionally withdraw, within 15 days, the statements disseminated through the media, following the same manner and forum in which they were originally made.

It also advised him to refrain from making similar public statements in the future without verified and evidence-based information.

The notice warned that failure to comply within the stipulated period would lead to appropriate legal proceedings under the prevailing laws, including Section 500 of the Penal Code.