ACC Focuses on Yunus-era graft claims

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is facing a major test as it begins examining a series of corruption and money-laundering allegations against former advisers and people close to the interim administration led byDr Muhammad Yunus.

ASIF MAHMUD PROBE
The first major test involves former Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, against whom the ACC is investigating allegations of financial irregularities involving around Tk 13,000 crore. The complaints include alleged irregularities in appointments, tenders and development projects, alongside claims that about Tk 11,000 crore was laundered abroad.

According to the allegations, around Tk 4,500 crore was allegedly transferred to Dubai, Tk 3,000 crore to Singapore, Tk 2,000 crore to Australia and Tk 1,500 crore to Switzerland. Other claims refer to transactions involving Portugal, Dubai’s Green Group, Swiss banks and cryptocurrency, allegedly routed through relatives and associated entities. The ACC has stressed that the allegations will be verified through investigation.

The inquiry also covers alleged financial dealings surrounding government appointments, transfers and postings, including the appointment of the Dhaka North City Corporation administrator and the posting of deputy commissioners in different districts.

Allegations concerning tenders and development projects are also being examined.

As part of the inquiry, the ACC has decided to seek a travel ban on Asif Mahmud to prevent any possible obstruction to the investigation if he attempts to leave the country.

The commission has also sought detailed information on the movable and immovable assets, bank accounts, investments and alleged money laundering activities of Asif Mahmud and his wife, Ayesha Akter Panna, both at home and abroad. 

ACC Deputy Director Md Zahid Kalam, in a letter to the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), sought records of the couple's financial activities and transactions involving individuals and entities associated with them.

All scheduled banks and non banking financial institutions have been asked to provide information on accounts, transaction histories, loans, fixed deposits, DPS, savings certificates and other investments held in their names.

The BFIU has also been requested to coordinate with financial intelligence units in Portugal, Australia, the UAE, Singapore and Switzerland to verify whether the couple holds bank accounts, assets or investments in those countries.

The ACC documents further refer to allegations of illegal accumulation of wealth, establishment of companies in Bangladesh, acquisition of foreign citizenship and money laundering. The inquiry is now expected to establish whether the allegations are supported by financial records and other evidence.

ALLEGATIONS UNDER SCRUTINY
Former adviser's aides have also come under scrutiny. Md Moazzem Hossain, former assistant private secretary to Asif Mahmud, and Hammad Tuhin Farabi, former personal officer to Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum, faced allegations involving transfers and promotions, procurement commissions and favoured contracts. ACC intelligence, drawing on Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit records, reportedly identified unusual bank transactions involving the two, prompting an inquiry and questioning.

Moazzem, described as a friend of Asif Mahmud, was removed in April 2025 following corruption allegations. A subsequent inquiry by the Momen Commission, however, cleared both Moazzem and Farabi.

The allegations against former advisers and their associates are not new. On 12 August 2025, then ACC Chairman Dr Abdul Momen said the commission had received corruption allegations against some advisers, including reports published in newspapers and on social media. Yet many allegations involving advisers, aides, bureaucrats and their associates remained unresolved for much of the interim government's 18 month tenure.

The reconstituted ACC, led by Justice A K M Asaduzzaman, has since received around 2,000 complaints concerning former interim government officials, with allegations reportedly filed against most advisers. The complaints range from appointments and postings to tenders, development projects, foreign assets and alleged money laundering.

The commission now faces the task of separating allegations from evidence. Cases supported by preliminary findings are expected to proceed to fuller investigation, bringing renewed scrutiny to whether those who exercised power during the interim administration will be held to the same legal and institutional standards applied to others.

CLAIMS AGAINST YUNUS, OTHERS
Complaints against former Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus allege more than Tk 5,000 crore was laundered to the United States, France, Switzerland and Norway. One complaint alleges that Tk 374 crore, said to have originated from Telenor, was deposited into his personal account in Norway.

Other allegations concern an alleged Tk 150 crore investment in the GrameenCréditAgricole Foundation in France between December 2024 and June 2025, a Tk 120 crore increase in Grameen America and benefits allegedly extended to Grameen-affiliated entities. These claims require documentary and financial verification.

Former Law Adviser Asif Nazrul has also faced more than a dozen complaints alleging corruption and money laundering involving over Tk 10,000 crore. The allegations include financial transactions over transfers, postings, recruitment licences and other official decisions.

Meanwhile, former Environment Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan faces at least eight complaints alleging Tk 8,000 crore in corruption, project irregularities and property dealings. Her husband, Abu Bakr Siddique, is accused in the complaints of handling or laundering assets allegedly linked to former state minister Nasrul Hamid Bipu.

Nurjahan Begum, former Health Adviser, faces allegations involving tender and hospital procurement irregularities, including a claim of Tk 9,000 crore in money laundering and an alleged luxury property purchase in New Jersey through a relative.

Other complaints involve former Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan over power-sector deals, former Information Adviser Mahfuz Alam over television licence allegations, Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam over Tk2,000 crore, International Crimes Tribunal Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam over Tk1,000 crore and former Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur over an alleged Tk45 crore overseas flat purchase.

Complaints have also been filed against Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Adilur Rahman Khan and others.

ACC'S CREDIBILITY AT STAKE
Complaints filed during the interim government's tenure reportedly put the alleged amount of corruption involving Yunus and his advisers at at least Tk 40,000 crore.

Transparency International Bangladesh Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, "No one is above the law; if investigations confirm the allegations, appropriate action must be taken against those involved."

For the ACC, the central test is now the evidence. Allegations must be investigated impartially, those found responsible must face the law, and those against whom allegations are not substantiated must be cleared.