ACC team to submit final report next week

 

The Anti-Corruption Commission’s enquiry team on graft allegation in Padma bridge project will submit its report next week after re-examining the whole thing afresh based on some information recently provided by the World Bank.

The Padma bridge co-financiers are now waiting for the World Bank external panel’s opinion about the ACC investigation into the graft allegations.

ACC Chairman Ghulam Rahman on Thursday said, “The ACC will reinvestigate allegations against everyone in the project. The enquiry team may submit its report to the commission next week.”

The ACC was supposed to submit its enquiry report during the WB external panel’s visit to Dhaka from December 1 to 5, but it failed to finalise the report as the meetings between the WB team and ACC ended inconclusively.

The WB panel left Dhaka Wednesday night seemingly unhappy over the omission of ex-minister Syed Abul Hossain as a top corruption suspect in the project.

An ACC high official preparing anonymity said apart from the information sent earlier, the external panel also gave some more information on corruption conspiracy against several persons including Syed Abul Hossain.

The enquiry team will examine the information of corruption specially relating to Syed Abul Hossain, the official said, adding “The enquiry team has already started re-investigating the matter of Syed Abul Hossain.”

Sources in ACC said the report submitted by the ACC investigation committee contained the name of Syed Abul Hossain but after it was placed at the ACC highest level the name was dropped.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Thursday in his secretariat office told reporters, “They (WB panel) came and watched everything but decision will finally be taken by us.”

The ACC launched the enquiry in September last year after the WB raised corruption allegations in the project.

The WB panel headed by Ocampo, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, earlier visited Dhaka in October.

The two other panel members are Timothy Tong, former commissioner of the Independent Commission against Corruption of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and Richard Alderman, former director of Britain’s Serious Fraud Office.

The WB cancelled its $1.2 billion funding on June 29, saying it had proof of a “corruption conspiracy” involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of a Canadian firm and some individuals.

Source: The Daily Star