Backlog grows as ACC remains headless
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Bangladesh’s principal anti-graft body, has been without its top leadership for over two and a half months, effectively paralysing its core functions and raising concerns over the future of thousands of pending corruption cases.
In the absence of a functioning commission, activities requiring approval from the ACC’s highest authority — including the filing of new cases, investigations, approval of charge sheets, travel bans on accused persons, and attachment of assets — have been suspended.
Only routine administrative tasks are continuing, leaving the state anti-corruption body virtually at a standstill.
Experts and legal analysts have warned that the situation cannot continue indefinitely and urged the government to constitute a new commission without delay.
The ACC has been leaderless since the resignation of its Chairman and two Commissioners on 3 March 2026.
Mohammad Abdul Momen, along with Commissioners Mian Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi and Hafiz Ahsan Farid, submitted their resignations under the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, which were confirmed by a Cabinet Division gazette notification on the same day.
Currently, 11,753 corruption-related cases, including money laundering, remain pending across various courts. Of these, 6,461 cases are before subordinate or trial courts, 4,095 before the High Court Division, and 745 before the Appellate Division.
A further 419 cases are stayed by High Court orders. Cases involve allegations of acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income, tax evasion, bribery, embezzlement of public funds, irregularities in procurement, and money laundering.
Accused individuals include politicians, businessmen, serving and former government officials, and members of their families.
According to ACC data, 865 cases are pending in Dhaka, with 2,939 cases elsewhere in the country.
Only 33 cases have been disposed of nationwide this year. A further 335 cases dating back to the now-defunct Anti-Corruption Bureau, abolished 22 years ago, remain unresolved.
Former Registrar General of the Bangladesh Supreme Court and District Judge Ikteder Ahmed warned that the absence of leadership will further increase the backlog of cases.
“If the ACC continues to operate without leadership, pending cases will accumulate, investigations will be hampered, and the government’s anti-corruption campaign will be questioned,” he said.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh, described the leadership vacuum as unprecedented.
He said the ACC Act requires the appointment of a commissioner within 30 days of a vacancy, but the delay has created a legal and operational gap, undermining the body’s credibility.
The leadership void comes despite significant seizures of assets this year, both domestically and abroad, highlighting the urgent need for a fully functioning commission to ensure the country’s anti-corruption drive continues effectively.
