Anti-Corruption Commission
Profile
- Head
- —
- Role
- Chairman
- Annual budget
- ৳1,910,000,000
- Staff
- 978
- Established
- 2004
- Legal basis
- Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 (Act No. V of 2004); established by presidential proclamation dated 23 February 2004, operationalised 9 May 2004. First commissioners appointed 21 November 2004. Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 issued by the interim government to expand powers -- referred by parliament to a special committee for review (April 2026); not yet converted to permanent law.
The ACC is without a functioning commission as of mid-May 2026, paralysed since the 3 March 2026 mass resignation; no search committee has been formed to appoint a new chairman and two commissioners; the 2025 Amendment Ordinance expanding the ACC's powers was not converted to law and is deferred for parliamentary review; ongoing Hasina-era cases (Purbachal plot convictions, money-laundering inquiries) remain with the courts but new cases and travel bans are stalled due to the leadership vacuum.
Recent activity
- 2025-11-27 legal Dhaka Special Judge's Court (Judge Abdullah Al Mamun) convicted Sheikh Hasina in three Purbachal New Town plot-allocation cases and sentenced her to 21 years imprisonment in the aggregate; her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul each received five-year terms. Cases were ACC-filed. ↗↗
- 2025-12-01 legal Dhaka court convicted Sheikh Hasina and sentenced her to five years imprisonment in a separate Purbachal plot case; her niece Tulip Siddiq (British MP) received a two-year sentence; Sheikh Rehana received seven years. All defendants are in absentia. Cases were initiated and prosecuted by ACC. ↗↗
- 2025-12-23 legal Dhaka Senior Special Judge's Court (Judge Abdullah Al Mamun) issued an international travel ban on Md Jalal Uddin (BNP-nominated Chandpur-2 candidate) and four family members on ACC petition; Jalal is under inquiry for laundering Tk 249 crore (combined movable and immovable assets) under the Money Laundering Prevention Act. ↗↗
- 2025-11-06 audit ACC district office team raided Kaliakair Municipality office and uncovered a Tk 13.92 crore tender scam under the IUGIP project (April 2024 road and drainage works); former Mayor Mazibur Rahman (BNP) accused of approving forged work orders without verification; contractor Brown Field Engineering Ltd secured the contract irregularly. ↗↗
- 2026-03-03 other ACC Chairman Dr Mohammad Abdul Momen and both commissioners (Miah Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi and Brig Gen (retd) Hafiz Ahsan Farid) resigned en masse, citing the need to allow the incoming BNP-led government to appoint a commission aligned with its mandate; effective after 30 days' notice. ↗↗
- 2026-03-13 regulation President accepted the resignations of ACC Chairman and two commissioners; the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 reverted as the operative legal framework after the 2025 Amendment Ordinance was not converted to law within the parliamentary window. ↗↗
- 2026-04-28 other ACC reported paralysed for 56 days with no commission in place; Cabinet Division had not yet formed the legally required five-member search committee (must include an Appellate Division judge, a High Court Division judge, the Comptroller and Auditor General, a retired Cabinet Secretary, and the PSC Chairman) to shortlist six candidates for presidential appointment. ↗↗
- 2026-04-12 regulation Parliament's special committee recommended that the Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 be held for further review and not converted to permanent law; the ordinance's provisions (undercover inquiries, direct case filing, extraterritorial jurisdiction, expanded five-member commission) remain in legal limbo pending reintroduction as a new bill. ↗↗
Provenance & notes
Established 9 May 2004 under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 (replacing the former Bureau of Anti-Corruption). The ACC is a fully independent constitutional-grade statutory body with its own budget line and prosecutorial authority; it is not subordinate to any ministry. The acronym in Bangla is দুদক (Dudok), from দুর্নীতি দমন কমিশন. Staff count of 978 is sourced from Banglapedia/ACC official data; 248 officers (deputy director to sub-assistant director rank) handle investigations and inquiries. FY2025-26 budget of Tk 191 crore (Tk 1,910,000,000) is from the Finance Adviser's budget speech, confirmed by BSS. The current_head field is null because no chairman has been appointed since the 3 March 2026 mass resignation; the Cabinet Division had not formed the search committee as of late April 2026. The Jalal Uddin travel ban (23 December 2025) involved Tk 249 crore in combined assets, not a standalone embezzlement figure -- this is the stated value of assets under inquiry for money laundering. The Kaliakair tender scam investigation (November 2025) is at inquiry stage; no formal case has been filed as of the verification date. The 2025 ACC Amendment Ordinance remains deferred -- it was not among the 91 ordinances converted to law in April 2026, and parliament's special committee recommended further review before reintroduction as a new bill.
Sources
- https://acc.org.bd/
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Anti-Corruption_Commission
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Corruption_Commission_(Bangladesh)
- https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/bgd202854.pdf
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/acc-chief-his-two-deputies-quit-en-masse-4120241
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/acc-paralysed-56-days-amid-leadership-vacuum-4163306
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/hasina-family-indicted-six-cases-over-purbachal-plot-graft-3952186
- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/acc-get-power-probe-corruption-bangladeshis-anywhere-foreigners-bangladesh-4017331
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/27/after-death-sentence-bangladesh-ex-pm-hasina-gets-21-years-for-land-grab
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/1/bangladeshs-ex-leader-sheikh-hasina-and-british-mp-niece-found-guilty
- https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/01/asia/bangladesh-corruption-trial-tulip-siddiq-sheikh-hasina-intl-hnk
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/285947/travel-ban-imposed-on-bnp-mp-nominee-jalal-family
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/national/court-bars-bnps-chandpur-2-candidate-jalal-uddin-his-family-from-leaving-bangladesh
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/corruption/acc-uncovers-tk1392-crore-tender-scam-kaliakair-municipality-1279396
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/allegations-irregularities-kaliakair-municipality-are-baseless-former-mayor-1281026
- https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/404663/president-accepts-resignation-of-acc-chairman-2
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/acc-grounds-halt-govt-waits-ordinance-elapse-1407736
- https://en.banglapress24.com/article/parliamentary-body-to-revisit-16-ordinances-scraps-four-others
- https://www.pressenza.com/2026/03/bangladeshs-anti-corruption-watchdog-stalls-after-mass-resignation/
- https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/292865/acc-chairman-two-commissioners-resign
- https://www.bssnews.net/national-budget-2025-2026/279412