Changes to ACC to-do list leave Tk3,500cr fraud cases in limbo  

The government in 2013 amended the jurisdictions of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) tasking it with investigations of fraud and forgery cases. 

Just three years later in 2016, the agency was taken off the charge.

The changeover, and then returning to the previous stage, threw the investigation of 6,000 fraud and forgery cases involving a whopping Tk3,500 crore dispute claims in limbo. 

Anti-graft experts have labelled the amendments that prompted the back and forth "abrupt and short-sighted".

Meanwhile, the litigants have turned sceptical about the legal remedy of the disputes.

Take for instance Chattogram's Moinuddin Asif, whose plot was allegedly occupied by land document forgery. 

He filed a case with a Chattogram court in 2013 against one Ali Akbar who allegedly had taken over the land.

In 2013, with the amendment to ACC's jurisdiction, his case was transferred to the anti-graft watchdog from local police. 

The ACC Chattogram office even assigned an investigation officer, though the litigant claimed the investigation could not make any headway.

In 2016, another amendment revoked ACC's jurisdiction over fraud and forgery case investigation. It was then said that the ACC will not be probing all frauds and forgery cases, rather it will look into only the cases related to government properties, public servants and bank employees.                           

Asif's case then returned to the local Halishahar Police Station which could not complete the investigation even in more than four years. In the latest development, Asif filed a writ in March this year with the High Court (HC) seeking a judicial inquiry that also awaits hearing.       

"It is quite an old case. I will have to get the updates first before making any comment," said Rafiqul Islam, Officer-in-Charge of Chattogram's Halishahar Police Station.  

Mohammad Masud Mia, Asif's lawyer at the HC, told The Business Standard that not only Asif, but 21 other people from different areas of Chattogram have been included as plaintiffs in the writ petition. They moved to the HC altogether as all of them have been facing a drag on in police investigation.

ACC sources said the anti-graft watchdog returned investigations of 6,000 cases to police, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and courts after the 2016 amendment. 

Moidul Islam, the then director general (legal) of the ACC, said, "It is not possible for the ACC to investigate all the public and private sector fraud cases. Therefore, the ACC Act was changed allowing the agency only to look into cases that are related to public employees or government interest."    

"The ACC was overburdened with the private sector and individual cases. Those were returned to the previous investigation agencies in 2016. However, the ACC did not carry out any follow-up afterwards," he noted.

Not a single case makes it to trial so far 

An ACC source said not a single fraud case of the 6,000 lawsuits the anti-graft watchdog handed over to different agencies could make it to the trial as the investigations are still going on.

The litigants in the last five years since the handover have sent around 500 letters to the ACC requesting it to intervene. "The letters have been forwarded to the home ministry and the law ministry since we no longer have the jurisdiction," said ACC Secretary Dr Md Anowar Hossain Howlader.  

Land disputes top the cases

Of the 6,000 cases, there are 1,900 cases of land ownership and land document forgery. There are 1,674 cases over job frauds, 1,548 cases of business frauds while 878 are over other kinds of forgeries.    

In 2013 and later, the ACC received 1,244 cases from courts, 2,351 from police while the agency filed 2,405 fraud cases on its own after the initial inquiry.

After the 2016 amendment, the ACC transferred the 2,405 cases filed by the agency to courts to be distributed among concerned investigation agencies.     

Mostafa Kamal, the then ACC secretary, said, "There were complaints that the cases were yet to be distributed by the courts. The law ministry was then notified about the issue."  

Incumbent ACC Secretary Dr Md Anowar Hossain Howlader said the ministry and the Supreme Court will be notified again if required considering the public interest.

An official of the Public Security Division at the home ministry said they will soon ask police to complete the investigation of the fraud cases.   

'My client deeply disappointed'

Sajib Mia allegedly embezzled Tk30 lakh from his employer Anwar Hossain – a businessman in Bogura. Anwar filed a case against his staff in 2013. The investigation went to police, then to the ACC and returned to police again.

Ashraful Islam Shuja, lawyer for the businessman, said, "The investigation has not been completed yet, and we do not know when it would end. My client is deeply disappointed."

Narayanganj fruit trader Baker Uddin reportedly lost Tk40 lakh in fraud to his business partner. He filed a written complaint with the ACC head office in 2015. The ACC filed a case as the primary inquiry found the allegation to be true.

After changing hands, the investigation is now with the police and waiting for the completion.

'Changes were carried out willy-nilly'

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of the Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said the ACC Act has been changed multiple times as some of the amendments were short-sighted.     

"From the admin point of view, it might seem that the law needs to be reformed and then the changes are carried out abruptly. But there should be talks with the stakeholders before the amendments."

He said handing the investigation of non-government sector or individual-level fraud cases to police was an appreciable step, but it did not consider the sufferings of the litigants.    

"Police should have given a deadline to complete the investigations," he further said, adding the ACC Act still has some issues even after the 2016 amendment.

Law Minister Anisul Huq said they will find out why the fraud case investigations drag on, and take measures accordingly so that the cases could be disposed of quickly.   

A separate agency sought

ABM Khairul Haque, chairman of the Law Commission and a former chief justice, said the government could form a separate investigation agency comprising retired judicial officers and police for a certain period of time to look into the fraud cases.  

He came up with the suggestion as the current investigation agencies show little interest in such disputes.

"People are the original authority of this country, and the main task of the state is to protect the interests of the citizens. We need the investigations completed immediately to alleviate sufferings of the litigants and their frustration with the trial," he added.