Legal hitch hampers ACC probes

Although the newly passed Anti Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act, 2013 has given more power to the ACC to conduct probes into graft allegations, its investigation and inquiry officers are facing hassles in collecting documents due to complications in interpretation of the law. “When we seek documents from banks, NBR (National Board of Revenue) or other financial institutions, the authorities don’t provide that showing causes that the documents the commission sought are not public documents, but the classified ones,” an ACC inquiry officer and deputy director recently told UNB seeking anonymity. The Anti Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act, 2013 has incorporated a provision in Section 5 saying that the provisions of this law will get supremacy over whatever mentioned in other acts. About the special powers of the Commission in respect to inquiry or investigation, the section 19 (1) (d) of the Anti Corruption Commission Act 2004, the Commission shall call for public records or its certified copies from any court office. The provision of 19 (2) stated that the Commission may require any person to ‘furnish information’ in matters relating to any inquiry or investigation and any person so directed is obliged to furnish information available to him. The ACC officials said they are facing trouble in collecting important documents of graft suspects, including statements of bank accounts, to conduct probes since the officials of concerned organisations/institution claim that these information are confidential and classified, and as per the law they have no jurisdiction to provide these documents to the Commission, reports UNB.