ACC’s year of mixed outcomes: 249 cases closed, acquittals rule

ACC logo

By Shafikul Islam. Dhaka, Nov 27 - Over the past 11 months, Bangladesh’s anti-graft landscape has unfolded with a mix of progress, as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has wrapped up 249 cases since December 2024, but with more than half ending up in acquittal.

From December 2024 to October 2025, 512 cases were filed against corrupt people both at home and abroad, including money launderers, state fund embezzlers, loan defaulters and various government, private and political figures.

During the same period, 249 pending cases were resolved, resulting in convictions in 126 cases and acquittal in 123.

The ACC also reported recovering fines amounting to Tk 5,058 crore and confiscating assets worth Tk 321 crore.

According to 11 months of case and charge sheet statistics, the ACC received 11,630 complaints, but only 960 were accepted for inquiry.

Meanwhile, 798 enforcement operations were conducted, of which 188 are under investigation, 28 have resulted in cases, and four people were caught red-handed through traps. Besides, 23 public hearings were held.

During this period, the ACC says, a total of 512 cases were filed implicating 2,191 accused individuals. Charge sheets were submitted in 315 cases, naming 1,078 accused. A total of 73 cases were exempted under FRT (final report).

Following the fall of the Awami League government amid mass protests on August 5 last year, the ACC began investigating corruption by top politicians, businessmen and institutions. The commission found evidence of money laundering and corruption, prompting a series of cases and subsequent court orders to freeze and confiscate assets — a process that continues.

In the aftermath of the mass uprising, the ACC claimed it had achieved record success in its crackdown on corrupt individuals, confiscating and freezing unprecedented amounts of movable and immovable assets.

Between December 2024 and October 2025, the ACC seized and froze assets worth more than Tk 26,013 crore belonging to over 300 individuals and entities involved in corruption, embezzlement and money laundering.

By comparison, the total value of confiscated and frozen assets in all of 2024 was only Tk 361 crore. In the five years from 2020 to 2024, the combined figure stood at roughly Tk 3,450 crore, highlighting the dramatic surge in asset seizures over the past 11 months.

According to ACC’s asset management division and court sources, Tk 3,457 crore 83 lakh worth of assets were confiscated within the country during this period.

Besides, domestic bank and financial accounts containing Tk 22,226 crore 79 lakh were frozen, along with Tk 328 crore 38 lakh frozen abroad. In total, around Tk 26,013 crore 2 lakh 93 thousand in assets were confiscated or frozen both domestically and internationally.

Commenting on the overall development, ACC Commissioner Miah Muhammad Ali Akbar Azizi said, “I want to emphasise that the ACC is empowered with substantial legal authority. To expedite judicial proceedings, more special courts are required.”

ACC has not yet become the fully empowered institution it needs to be, said its Chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen.

Responding to a question on whether the ACC is a ‘toothless tiger’, he said, “The ACC has both teeth and claws — though they may need further sharpening. The teeth are not as sharp as they need to be. The claws have not fully grown yet. We are somewhere in the middle stage.”

When asked whether the ACC faces political or external pressure, the chairman issued a strong warning, saying that anyone attempting to hinder corruption inquiries or investigations in the future will have their names publicly disclosed.

He emphasised that combating corruption is not solely the responsibility of the ACC.

Each government, autonomous, and private institution must strengthen their own audit mechanisms. “If institutions took action against corrupt officials based on their internal audit reports, many cases would not even need to come to the ACC,” he said.

Sharing data on recent ACC activities, Momen noted that an analysis of the 11 months from December 2024 to October 2025 shows that politicians account for the lowest number of ACC cases. During this period, 151 cases were filed against politicians, while only 28 cases resulted in charge sheets.

The chairman’s comments underline both the structural limitations of the ACC and the growing expectation for greater transparency, especially with the new warning to expose those who attempt to exert undue influence. - UNB