Corruption in Bangladesh

Corruption by sector

Bribery, rent-seeking and inappropriate use of government funds, excessive lobbying, long time delays in service performance, pilferage, irresponsible conduct from the government officials, bureaucratic intemperance have made public sector departments the most corrupt sectors of Bangladesh. Public sectors in Bangladesh include police departments, fire departments, water supply, electricity, gas supply, education, waste disposal, health, transportation, administration etc.

Bangladesh Awami League

Joynal Hazari, an MP of Awami League from Feni District of Bangladesh, was one of the prominent godfathers and terrorists. He is believed to be involved in the murder of Chairman of Fulgazi Upazila Ekramul Haque. On January 25, 2001, a young journalist named Tipu Sultan was abducted and savagely beaten by about fifteen thugs wielding baseball bats, hockey sticks, and iron rods after producing an article accusing a Jaynal Hazari. On 18 June 2015, a Jubo League leader named Golam Rasul Manik was killed by the cadres of Jaynal Hazari. On 31 August 2015, supreme court ordered to reopen a money laundering case against Jaynal Hazari.

On 9 April 2012 Railway Minister Suranjit Sengupta's assistant personal secretary, general manager of the eastern region, and commandant of security were driving to Suranjit's residence with 7.4 million Taka of bribe money, when the driver Azam Khan turned them in.

In 2012 World Bank alleged that Syed Abul Hossain was one of the corruption conspirator in the Padma Bridge Scandal. He resigned from his office on 23 July 2012. Former state minister for foreign affairs and MP of Awami League Abul Hasan Chowdhury was also involved in that corruption plot.

On 29 August 2012, Anti Corruption Commission of Bangladesh said that they have the information that Syed Modasser Ali, adviser to the prime minister Sheikh Hasina, allegedly influenced Sonali Bank authorities into granting scam loan to the controversial Hallmark Group.

On 8 March 2013, an A-level student named Tanvir Muhammad Taqi was found murdered and floating in Shitalakshya River of Narayanganj. It is widely believed that the Awami League MP of Narayanganj Shamim Osman was instrumental behind this murder. No case has been taken by police, no investigation done, and nobody was charged. On the other hand, Taqi's father was sent to prison in a cheque forgery case filed by Jalal Uddin Ahmed, uncle-in-law of Shamim Osman.

On 24 April 2013, a commercial building named Rana Plaza in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed due to structural failure. That building was owned by Sohel Rana, a Jubo League (youth wing of Bangladesh Awami League) leader.

On 27 April 2014, the incident named Narayanganj Seven Murder occurred. The main plotter of that incident Nur Hossain was the vice-president of Siddhirganj Awami League.

On 15 October 2015, Awami League MP Manjurul Islam Liton was arrested for shooting a 9-year old boy named Shahadat Hossain Shoura.

On 7 April 2016, Bangladesh Supreme Court upheld the 3-years' prison sentence in the graft case of two sons (Jalal Alamgir, Joy Alamgir) of former minister of home affairs Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir.

On 10 April 2016, Bangladesh Supreme Court Appellate Division upheld 13-year jail to former minister of Disaster Management and Relief Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya rejecting his review plea seeking acquittal in graft case.

On November 2016, Awami League MP Abdur Rahman Bodi was sentenced to three years of prison and fined US$1 million for illegally amassing and hiding wealth of US$100 million.

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)

In 2007, Military backed caretaker government charged Harris Chowdhury, former Political Secretary of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, of acquiring his wealth through corruption. Chowdhury was charged with involvement in the Murder of former finance minister, Shah AMS Kibria, in 2005. He was also charged with involvement in the 15 August 2004 Dhaka grenade attack and Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. On 21 December 2014, an arrest warrant was issued against him. His properties were confiscated by the directives of Bangladesh High Court. Harris Chowdhury is a fugitive from 2007.

On 22 July 2007, Wadud Bhuiyan received 20-years' of prison sentence for illegally amassing more than a million dollar of cash and property.

On 16 October 2008, it has been reported that the Interpol found the trace of a deposit of BD Taka 141.5 million with a bank in Hong Kong of former foreign minister M Morshed Khan. Both he and his son Faisal Morshed Khan have been convicted in several cases relating to corruption, hiding wealth information, land grabbing and criminal activities after the caretaker government came to power in January 2007. Both of them are fugitive from 2007. On 5 June 2016, High Court ordered freezing of Morshed Khan, his wife and son’s Hong Kong bank accounts.

On 3 November 2008, a leaked US Embassy cable said that the Embassy in Dhaka believed Tarique Rahman was "guilty of egregious political corruption that has had a serious adverse effect on US national interests".

In 24 June 2011, Niko Resources, a Calgary-based oil and gas company, has pleaded guilty to bribing Bangladeshi minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain with a luxury SUV and a trip to New York and Calgary, and will pay a $9.5-million fine.

The Anti-Corruption Commission filed the case with Gulshan Police Station on August 16, 2011 against Hafiz and his wife for laundering US $1.75 million to Singapore. On 23 August 2015 Bangladesh Supreme Court scrapped his acquittal from High Court.

On 4 July 2014, Bangladesh Supreme Court sentenced former minister of civil aviation Mir Mohammad Nasiruddin and his son Mir Helal Uddin to thirteen years' of prison in two separate corruption cases.

On 15 November 2014, Prof AKM Shafiul Islam Lilon of Department of Social Science of Rajshahi University was hacked to death by Jubo Dal (youth wing of Bangladesh Nationalist Party) leader Anwar Hossain Ujjal.

Jatiyo Party

Known in Bangladesh as "Sugar Zafar", Kazi Zafar Ahmed, because of his alleged role in the hijacking of a multimillion-dollar aid shipment of sugar, he was sentenced to 15 years' jail in absentia on corruption charges by a Dhaka court in November 1999.

On 20 November 2000, Hussain Muhammad Ershad was convicted and sentenced for Janata Tower Case. As a result, he was declared ineligible to contest the general election of 2001. Ershad is also the main accused of the murder case of Major General Muhammad Abul Manzoor.

On 10 November 2002, the deadbody of a prominent model named Syeda Tania Mahbub Tinni was found under the Buriganga Bridge which was later found to be perpetrated by former student cadre and MP of Jatiyo Party, Golam Faruk Ovi. Golam Faruk Ovi is a fugitive and believed to be hiding in Canada.

Student politics

In public universities and colleges the student wings of ruling political parties dominate the campuses and residential halls through crime and violence to gain various unauthorized facilities. They control the residential halls to manage seats in favor of their party members and loyal pupils. They eat and buy for free from restaurants and shops inside their campus. They extort and grab tenders to earn illicit money. They take money from job seekers and put pressure on university administrations to appoint them. In government colleges they take money from freshmen candidates and put pressure on teachers and officials to get acceptance for them. Some of them often involves in robbery and rape.

Bangladesh Chatra Legue

On 18 December 2013, of twenty one students and members of Jagannath University branch of Bangladesh Chatra League, eigh were sentenced to death and the rest of thirteen were given life imprisonment by the Fast Judgement Tribunal-4 for the murder of Biswajit Das, a tailor of Old Dhaka. Of twenty one convicted, thirteen are fugitive.

Government

In 2010, then president Zillur Rahman pardoned twenty convicted murderers of Shabbir Ahmed Gamma. In July, 2011, he again pardoned Awami League leader and convicted murderer Biplob.

Prime examples of government corruption are 2011 Bangladesh share market scam.

Padma Bridge Scandal, occurred in 2011, was the largest political scandal in Bangladesh that involved the ruling Bangladesh Awami League's government who allegedly sought a large amount money from the Canadian construction company SNC-Lavalin in exchange for awarding them the construction contract.

On 10 December 2012, some hackers hacked and posted the seventeen hours' of Skype call of chief justice Nizamul Huq on YouTube where he suggested that he was under pressure from the government to reach a quick verdict in the ongoing 1971 war crime cases against the country’s senior opposition leaders.

Judiciary

In 2010, Judiciary of Bangladesh was ranked as the most corrupt institution of the country. The most prominent aspect of the judiciary of Bangladesh is, it is not an independent institution of the state in that both judiciary and the executive branch of the government are overlapped. Bangladesh's Judicial system is infested by partisanship, governmental or political influence, judicial corruption, delays in verdicts, and abuse of power.

Judges

On 3 March 2007, University of Chittagong revoked the LLB certificate of the judge Faisal Mahmud Faizee and seventy others for tempering with their mark-sheets, asking them to immediately return their certificates.

On 26 July 2014, it has been reported that three senior judges, AKM Ishtiaque Hussain, Md Mizanur Rahman, Salauddin Mohammad Akram, would lose their jobs because of various types of corruptions.

On 14 August 2016, Bangladesh Ministry of Law said that they have started the process of dismissing four judges, SM Aminul Islam, Ruhul Amin Khandaker, Sirajul Islam and Moinul Haque, for grave corruptions.

Impunity

Bangladesh has a huge backlog of unresolved cases both civil and criminal. Political clout is believed to be the main factor behind most of the unsolved murder cases.

According to Global Impunity Index of CJP published on October 27, 2016, Bangladesh occupies 11th position in the list where journalists are slain and killers go free.

Politics of trial

In Bangladesh, generally government files politically motivated cases against oppositions, and these cases get withdrawn or quashed when they gets to the government again.

Law enforcement

See also: Rapid Action Battalion

See also: Human rights in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Police

In 2002, Transparency International Bangladesh revealed that Bangladesh Police is one of the most corrupt public institutions in Bangladesh. In 2013, they again published the same assessment. Asian Human Rights Commission revealed that people of Bangladesh pay more to police than to the government. Police force benefits from political patronage and culture of impunity. Police is involved in blackmailing, extortion, torture, rape, and killing.

Rapid Action Battalion

Law enforcement agencies like Rapid Action Battalion are involved in extrajudicial killing, murder, abduction, and rampant human rights abuse.

Banking

Probably most important incident was 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist. Other examples are Hallmark-Sonali Bank Loan Scam of 2012, BASIC Bank scam of 2013, Oriental Bank Loan Scam, AB Bank Loan Scam.

In 2015, it was revealed that some Bangladeshi accounts of HSBC were involved in money laundering activities. HSBC was also involved in tax evasion activities.

Health and hygiene

A 2012 Survey by Transparency International Bangladesh showed that 40.2% of the people fell victim to the irregularities and corruptions in public hospitals. Doctors, nurses and other professionals working in government-run public hospitals have long been accused of demanding bribes for services which are supposed to be provided free of cost. The survey also alleged that the recruitment, transfer and promotion process of personnel in this sector is also corrupted. Although the allegations were rejected by the Government Health Ministry. The survey reported that there is lack of regulation from the government in the private health care sector. The medical practitioners in these sector earn money by driving up health care costs and commission agreements with diagnostic centers. According to patients, even in emergency needs, they were unable to access services unless a bribe is paid first.

Business

Companies have been reported to be subjected to expensive and useless license and permit requirements. Business owners do not obey proper safety codes of the buildings and workplaces. As a result, several large accidents occurred and killed hundreds. Politicians are involved in giving contracts to foreign companies by taking bribes or kickbacks in closed-door negotiations.

Road safety

Traffic is heavy and chaotic in urban areas, specially in big cities. Streets are extremely congested and the usual traffic and safety rules are not applied or obeyed. Most drivers are untrained, unlicensed and uninsured. Over the years, road accidents have risen to a disastrous level. Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity, assessed that 8,589 people had died in road accidents across the country in 2014. 5,000 people died in road accidents in 2015. According to World Bank statistics, annual fatality rate from road accidents is found to be 85.6 fatalities per 10,000 vehicles. Chaos in the street is usually caused by reckless driving and jaywalking which leads to fatal accidents. Police, Ministers, Lawmakers, VIPs have the tendency to break traffic laws by driving on the reverse sides of the roads.

Poverty

Poverty, malnutrition, heath problems largely stems from corruption.

Economy

GDP growth has not been able to achieve its desired pace. For instance, in 2005, Vietnam had a GDP of USD 57.63 billion and Bangladesh had a GDP of USD 60.27 billion. In 2013, the GDP of Bangladesh has become USD 149.99 billion, whereas the GDP of Vietnam has become USD 171.39 billion.

Data from the World Bank shows that the countries like Singapore, Chile, Peru and Vietnam had similar GDPs, around USD 20 billion, around the 1985s. But, with the span of last thirty years all of them surpassed Bangladesh.

Foreign investment

According to the US report on the Bangladesh's investment climate,

“Corruption is common in public procurement, tax and customs collection, and regulatory authorities. Corruption, including bribery, raises the costs and risks of doing business.”

Anti Corruption Commission

Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh (ACC) was formed through an act promulgated on 23 February 2004 that came into force on 9 May 2004. The commission is often criticized for being ineffective and a wastage of resources due to the influence of the government over it. The Anti-Corruption Commission of Bangladesh is crippled by the 2013 amendment of the Anti Corruption Commission Act introduced by the ruling Awami League government, which makes it necessary for the commission to obtain permissions from the government to investigate or file any charge against government bureaucrats or politicians.

In 2015, the ACC investigated the case of Padma Bridge Scandal. Even though the World Bank continuously pressed the government to take actions against the perpetrators, after 53 days' of investigation, ACC found nobody to be guilty. On the basis of ACC's report, Dhaka district judge court acquitted all the seven government officials who were believed to be involved in the corruption plot. Before that, ACC even exonerated Syed Abul Hossain and ex-state minister for foreign affairs Abul Hasan Chowdhury from the allegation of involvement in the corruption conspiracy.

Transparency International Bangladesh

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is an independent, non-government, non-partisan and non-profit organization which is a fully accredited national chapter of Berlin-based Transparency International in Bangladesh. TIB undertakes research and surveys to investigate the magnitude and impact of corruption and suggest necessary moves for establishing a transparent system of governance, politics and business. The reports and researches published by TIB regarding corruptions are routinely rejected and overlooked by the Government and other responsible wings.

Corruption Index of Bangladesh

The following table is depicting the comparison of Corruption Perceptions Index of various countries in South Asia as rated by Transparency International.

The Global Corruption Perception Index of 2016, published on 25 January 2017 indicates that, even though Bangladesh gained one point in the ranking, it slept 6 positions to 145 as more countries had been able to reduce their corruption levels than that of Bangladesh. According to the report, India and Sri Lanka both plunged in the ranking. The biggest improver was Pakistan as it gained two more points than that of 2015 and also progressed one step forward.

Visa Restriction Index of Bangladesh

According to the Arton Capital's Passport Index, Bangladeshi passport is ranked 6th worst in the world in terms of Visa free travel. Bangladeshi passport's visa free travel score is 35 as compared to Afghanistan 23, Bhutan 48, India 45, Nepal 37, Pakistan 26, Sri Lanka 35.

According to Henley & Partner's Visa Restriction Index, Bangladeshi passport is ranked in the world.