The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) chairman Iqbal Mahmood said on Sunday activities of the national graft-watchdog has become a bit sluggish recently due to strategic reason.
"Many say there has been stagnation in the activities of the commission; … we don't disagree with them, and we want to say that it is a battle strategy to retreat from the battlefield at times, in the same way, sometimes ACC also consumes time to bring corrupts under legal action," he said.
The commission takes time to correctly monitor the movement of corrupt people to bring them to justice while consuming the time is nothing but a strategy, the ACC boss said at a meeting with a team from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held at the ACC headquarters in the city.
UNODC regional office for South Asia representative Sergay Kapinos led the three-member team while ACC director general (prevention) Md Jafar Iqbal was also present at the meeting.
Stressing the need for an oversight mechanism for every organisation to monitor respective activities, the ACC chairman said there can be an effective framework to supervise the works of the anti-graft agency.
The commission submits an annual report to the President every year and there is a legal scope for holding discussion on the report at the national parliament, he added.
Mr Mahmood said ACC sometimes takes time to collect better graft evidence against an accused which is just a strategy.
No one will get safe passage from the commission for the sake of better future of the next generation, he said, adding, "Those who became wealthy through committing corruption will come under justice today or tomorrow."
The ACC chairman also said there is no alternative to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without ensuring good governance, accountable bureaucracy, quality education and punishment of the corrupt people.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Kapinos said corruption exists everywhere in the world but it is differentiated considering the intensity and actions taken against it.
Meanwhile, he appreciated ACC's role in various graft prevention activities like formation of integrity units, integrity stores and organising public hearings.
He also informed that UNODC will establish a country office in Bangladesh to accelerate its activities here against drugs and corruption.
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