US delegation meets ACC officials: Discuss possible strategies to prevent corruption
Staff Reporter :
The United States has shown keen interest to work with corruption watchdog Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to combat country’s corruption including money laundering.
The US government also wanted to increase mutual cooperation with the ACC to play an effective role in fighting corruption in Bangladesh.
ACC Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain said this to journalists after holding a meeting with the visiting US Department of State’s Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption Richard Nephew on Sunday at ACC office in the capital.
The ACC secretary further stated that they had detailed discussions on adopting new strategies to combat corruption, including money laundering.
“It was a courtesy call, where they discussed various issues related to addressing corruption. The representative also wanted to know our steps taken to combat corruption. Alongside global anti-corruption measures, we also discussed new strategies to resist money laundering,” he said.
“The US State Department also wants to play a role in fighting corruption by increasing mutual cooperation with the ACC,” he said.
He also mentioned that the visiting team led by Richard Nephew would visit India to attend G-20 Summit.
When asked whether this meeting had any connection with the upcoming
national elections, the ACC Secretary replied that it is not related to the elections, and they have not discussed anything about the elections.
Furthermore, in response to another question from journalists, Richard Newell stated that “The meeting was fruitful.”
Richard Nephew is known as an American nuclear weapons and sanctions expert.
He was in the US negotiating team trying to revive the Iran nuclear deal. He stepped down from the position last year.
Later, he joined as a programme director at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University and a Senior Research Scholar teaching at the School of International and Public Affairs, at Columbia University.
He is also the author of “The Art of Sanctions”, a book from CGEP’s Columbia University Press book series.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while announcing his appointment on July 5, said: “Richard’s experience and dedication will be an asset to our efforts worldwide to address transnational corruption and kleptocracy, key components of the White House Strategy on Countering Corruption.
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, earlier, said he would be visiting Bangladesh as part of his tour to the South Asian region. He is also scheduled to meet Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, among others.