ACC has no conflict with TAC: Col Iqbal

FE Report | Published: August 12, 2008 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) said Monday it does not have any conflict with the Truth and Accountability Commission (TAC) that wants exemption from prosecution of people confessing to having ill-gotten wealth.

"We have no conflict with the TAC. Rather we will facilitate functioning of the Truth Commission," the ACC director general (admin) Col Hanif Iqbal told the FE Monday.

He, however, said the TAC will require getting ACC endorsement about considering a case being dealt with by the commission.

"We will recommend mercy plea for corruption, big or small, to the TAC for availing the opportunity," Mr Iqbal said clarifying the commission's latest position.

The ACC last week, however, argued that it would not be acceptable to the commission if the TAC compromised with any big corruption case.

The newly established TAC started functioning last week to deal with the mercy plea of the corrupt individuals.

Release of top corrupt businessmen who have massive investments in the country is the prime target of the TAC though it would consider graft cases of others too, said Syed Anisul Haq, senior lawyer who drafted the truth commission laws.

The caretaker government has arrested scores of businessmen and politicians during crackdown against corruption.

The TAC has received several mercy pleas for consideration, truth commission sources said.

"We have already got three such applications and started scrutinising those," the ACC director general said Monday.

Meanwhile, the ACC has approved the chargesheets framed against former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's brother Shamim Iskander and his wife Kaniz Fatema, Awami League leader Akhteruzzaman Babu, former lawmaker AKM Rahmatullah and his wife Halima Rahmatullah and former National Board of Revenue (NBR) member Md Zahurul Haq and his wife Afia Haq for amassing illegal wealth and concealing wealth-related information.

The commission earlier filed cases separately with Ramna Police Station accusing them with amassing illegally earned assets worth over Tk 160 million in total.

In a routine press briefing Monday the ACC director general also alleged that some top officials of the formerly Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) embezzled over Tk 140 million through fake vouchers and bills.

A section of corrupt officials of the Bangabandhu Sheik Mujib Medical University have embezzled around Tk 15 million violating the public procurement rules in purchasing valuable equipment, the ACC noted.