ACC needs more time to probe Padma Bridge graft claims

Munima Sultana The Anti-corruption Commission hasn't found any "evidence" of graft in the Padma Bridge project despite a month-long probe by its two enquiry committees, officials said Saturday. The local anti-graft watchdog set up two bodies after the World Bank suspended its US$1.2 billion credit line for the country's largest bridge, citing allegations of graft in the bidding process. ACC officials said the committees have spent over a month scrutinising details of the bidding papers and other documents, but they haven't had any clue that can confirm the development lender's claims. They said the committees have now sought necessary documents from the companies which have taken part in the bidding, as they seek to widen the probe in an effort to ensure fairness of the probe. "We have seen some of the relevant papers, but found no evidence of graft yet. We've now contacted the firms and also the Canadian police for more information," said an official. Golam Rahman, the chairman of ACC, told the FE that his agency would need time to draw a conclusion. "Under our rules, an enquiry committee is supposed to submit its report within a month. But in this case, it may take long time. It's a tough job. Committee members have to pore over thousands of papers," he said. He said so far the inquiry committee has been working on the basis of documents received from the Bangladesh Bridge Authority and a report from the World Bank. The ACC chairman said the committees haven't got any response from the companies who took part in the pre-qualification of the bidding for the 6.15 kilometre bridge construction work. "We have communicated with the World Bank integrity department and received its reply. They asked us to contact with the Canadian police as the issue is now under the latter's hands," he said. "We sent a request letter to Canadian police about a month ago, asking the authorities to share their findings. But we have not received any reply yet," the chairman added. The World Bank has said it can't fund the $3.0 billion bridge until the graft allegations are disposed of and actions taken against the guilty. The bank's integrity wing has brought allegations against a Canadian firm, which participated in the Padma Bridge bidding, for allegedly influencing the bid selection. In September, the wing informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about the graft allegations against the SNC Lavalin, engineering supervision firm based outside Toronto, In a report to the Bangladesh government, the WB also alleged that the communication minister Syed Abul Hossain and a representative of SAHCO, a firm owned by Hossain's family, had tried to sway the bidding process. The government has rejected the World Bank's claims but maintained that it would welcome any probe into the allegations.