A Unique Study of Corruption in Bangladesh

Abstract

Corruption is a vast and complex matter. It means any kinds of dishonest, defiled or illegal behavior, especially of people in authority. It is a major problem in the third world countries but it has been the burning question in Bangladesh. The list of the countries having rampant corruption is headed by Bangladesh several years. Transparency international found it as the most corrupted country. Corruption may originate from want, the immorality of people, lack of transparency, unsolved problems, unfinished works, vicious politicos, weak administration and many after relevant things. All the sectors of the government and the administration are corrupted severely as well. Taking bribe, nepotism, malpractice of power are the natures of corruption. No department of either government or non-government like ministry, office, school, college, university, law court, police station, hospital, etc. is beyond the reach of corruption. Even the victims of accident and the dying patients are not left untouched by corruption. It has become customary in our country that nothing is done without the intervention of corruption. The influential high officials and their assistants in our country adopt such techniques and pretense to materialize their ill-motives that common people who are deprived of their legal rights. Corruption has a terrible effect on all the parts of society. It leads the country to anarchism. Law and order situation become deteriorated for corruption. The difference between the poor and rich widens day by day. All the development procedures of the government become useless for the cause of corruption. However, this is a humiliating condition for us a nation. It has spoilt our image in the home and abroad. Above all, foreign donors and the investors become reluctant observing the large scale of the practice of corruption. However, the time has changed. With the same parade of the present government, all the people should voice against corruption. Nepotism, favoritism, red-tapism, biased attitude etc. should be dealt with an iron hand. Only our honest approaches can reinforce the government to ensure the good governance. Inclusion corruption begets corruption. It should be prevented urgently in all spheres of our life. Otherwise, we will fail to build up a sound and potent generation. We should look forward to ensuring corruption-free society as well as corruption free country.

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Citation: Md. Rezwanul Kabir (2021). A Unique Study of Corruption in Bangladesh. Saudi J. Humanities Soc Sci, 6(1): 18-25.
18
Saudi Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
Abbreviated Key Title: Saudi J Humanities Soc Sci
ISSN 2415-6256 (Print) | ISSN 2415-6248 (Online)
Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Journal homepage: https://saudijournals.com
Review Article
A Unique Study of Corruption in Bangladesh
Md. Rezwanul Kabir1*, Mst. Taskin Ara Taznin Bithi2, Tanzima Aktar Jyoti3, Tabassum Rahman4
1MSS (Development Studies), MS (Public Administration), China University of Geosciences
Managing Director, BIMS24 Ltd, 388 Lumo Rd, Hongshan, Wuhan, Hubei, China
2BSc (Agriculture), Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science &Technology University, Basherhat, N508, 5200, Bangladesh
3BBA (Institute of Business Administration), Pabna Science & Technology University, Rajapur, Dhaka - Pabna Highway, Pabna 6600, Bangladesh
Lecturer, Marketing, T & T University College, Motijheel, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
DOI: 10.36348/sjhss.2021.v06i01.004 | Received: 08.01.2021 | Accepted: 25.01.2021 | Published: 30.01.2021
*Corresponding author: Md. Rezwanul Kabir
Abstract
Corruption is a vast and complex matter. It means any kinds of dishonest, defiled or illegal behavior, especially of people
in authority. It is a major problem in the third world countries but it has been the burning question in Bangladesh. The list
of the countries having rampant corruption is headed by Bangladesh several years. Transparency international found it as
the most corrupted country. Corruption may originate from want, the immorality of people, lack of transparency,
unsolved problems, unfinished works, vicious politicos, weak administration and many after relevant things. All the
sectors of the government and the administration are corrupted severely as well. Taking bribe, nepotism, malpractice of
power are the natures of corruption. No department of either government or non-government like ministry, office, school,
college, university, law court, police station, hospital, etc. is beyond the reach of corruption. Even the victims of accident
and the dying patients are not left untouched by corruption. It has become customary in our country that nothing is done
without the intervention of corruption. The influential high officials and their assistants in our country adopt such
techniques and pretense to materialize their ill-motives that common people who are deprived of their legal rights.
Corruption has a terrible effect on all the parts of society. It leads the country to anarchism. Law and order situation
become deteriorated for corruption. The difference between the poor and rich widens day by day. All the development
procedures of the government become useless for the cause of corruption. However, this is a humiliating condition for us
a nation. It has spoilt our image in the home and abroad. Above all, foreign donors and the investors become reluctant
observing the large scale of the practice of corruption. However, the time has changed. With the same parade of the
present government, all the people should voice against corruption. Nepotism, favoritism, red-tapism, biased attitude etc.
should be dealt with an iron hand. Only our honest approaches can reinforce the government to ensure the good
governance. Inclusion corruption begets corruption. It should be prevented urgently in all spheres of our life. Otherwise,
we will fail to build up a sound and potent generation. We should look forward to ensuring corruption-free society as
well as corruption free country.
Keywords: Corruption, Institution, Bureaucracy, Anti-Corruption, Bangladesh.
Copyright © 2021 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original
author and source are credited.
INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh has faced a host of political
challenges since independence in 1971. After the
restoration of democracy in the 1990s, the reins of
power have oscillated between Khaleda Zia and Sheikh
Hasina. The country is plagued with endemic corruption.
While laws to address corruption exist, they are not
implemented adequately, nor are relevant institutions
effective. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the
main opposition to the incumbent Awami League (AL),
resorted to violence across the country after boycotting
the elections in 2014, leading to arrests and harassment
of key party officials by the security forces [1].
However, the ruling AL government has consolidated
political power through sustained harassment of the
opposition and those perceived to be allied with it, as
well as of critical voices in the media and civil society.
Such acts have greatly affected the opposing BNP as
well as the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party [2].
Islamist extremism has been on the rise in the otherwise
usually tolerant country (BBC News 2018). There has
been a rise in radicalism and extremism with systematic
attacks aimed at silencing secular bloggers, many of
whom have been murdered [3].

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Though the government denies the domestic
presence of Islamic State (IS), all the attacks between
2015 and 2016 were claimed by IS and al-Qaeda in
South Asia (AQIS) [3]. IS even took responsibility for
the Gulshan café attack in 2016, where 20 hostages and
two police officers were killed in the Dhaka bakery that
was known to be popular with foreigners [1, 3]. These
attacks led to a crackdown on radical groups, with
around 15,000 people arrested to curb a spate of
extremist violence [1]. Observers said the initiative
involved widespread human rights abuses by
authorities, including arbitrary arrests, enforced
disappearances and custodial deaths, which currently
continue in the country [1, 2].
Bangladesh has basic well-defined
administrative infrastructure throughout the country,
although it is deficient in some respects [3]. The
geographically low-lying country is vulnerable to
flooding and cyclones, and is likely to be badly affected
by any rises in sea levels, BBC News 2018. It is,
therefore, imperative to counter corruption in areas such
as disaster prevention and management. It should be
noted that the influx of over 655,000 Rohingya refugees
fleeing attacks by the Burmese military has exacerbated
specific governance issues such as human trafficking
and forced prostitution, and has led to price rises in
basic products and a fall in daily wages [4, 5].
Government apparatuses also have to deal with corrupt
third parties who use the crisis to issue fake
Bangladeshi identification to the refugees in exchange
for bribes [4].
However, Bangladesh has made remarkable
progress in reducing poverty, supported by sustained
economic growth. Based on the international poverty
line of US$1.90 per person per day, poverty in the
country fell from 44.2% in 1991 to 14.8% in 2016/17.
Rapid growth enabled Bangladesh to reach the lower
middle-income country status in 2015. In 2018, the
country fulfilled all three eligibility criteria for
graduation from the UN’s Least Developed Countries
(LDC) list for the first time. Life expectancy, literacy
rates and per capita food production have increased
significantly [6]. Bangladesh has made incredible
progress in terms of income growth and other aspects of
human development. Per capita income in the country,
for example, has risen from US$520 in 1990 to
US$4,040 in 2017; GDP growth has remained above
5% per year for the past 10 years. Life expectancy has
increased from 65 years in 2001 to 72.5 years in 2016;
adult literacy levels are at an all-time high of 72.76%,
according to UNESCO statistics. This marks an
increase of 26.1 percentage points from 2007. Despite
these successes, the country still faces some daunting
challenges with about 22 million people still living
below the poverty line, and corruption being
widespread in a number of sectors [6, 3].
Drug trafficking, corruption, fraud, counterfeit
money, gold smuggling and trafficking in persons are
the principal sources of illicit proceeds. Bangladesh is
also vulnerable to terrorism financing, including
funding that flows through the hawala/hundisystem and
by cash courier. The Bangladesh-based terrorist
organisation, Jamaat ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, has
publicly claimed to receive funding from Saudi Arabia,
US Department of State 2016. Eradicating the “culture
of corruption” in Bangladesh requires much more than
what is currently being done [7]. In fact, some
observers suggest that the country could have achieved
at least 2%–3% higher annual GDP growth if corruption
could be moderately controlled [8].
Overview of Corruption in Bangladesh
Extent of Corruption
Bangladesh ranks 143 out of 180 countries in
Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI) with a score of 28/100,
Transparency International 2018 [13] with 0 denoting
the highest perception of corruption and 100 the lowest.
Bangladesh also scores poorly in a number of
governance-related issues, including corruption,
according to the Worldwide Governance Indicators
(WGI) by the World Bank [6].
Main Drivers of Corruption
It has long been argued that there is a strong
connection between governance, ethics, integrity, and
corruption, all of which are the product of a complex
interplay of political, economic, social, and even
psychological factors and forces [9]. In the case of
Bangladesh, Rashid and Johara [10] argue that there
exists an integrity-governance-corruption nexus in the
country, as a result of which all the organs of
government have become pervaded by corruption.
Some argue that an apparent declining commitment to
democratic norms might also effect levels of corruption
in the country. In 2017, Bangladesh’s score in the
Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index fell to
its lowest ever. Its overall score of 5.43 out of 10 placed
the country 92nd out of 165 countries assessed. While
the country's points in all other categories remained
essentially unchanged, the score in civil liberties
dropped from 6.76 in 2006 to 5.29 in 2017, reflecting
concerns among rights activists, and leading to the
categorisation of Bangladesh as a "hybrid regime".
Such a volatile scenario creates a breeding
ground for politics to be “monopolised” and the
concomitant flourishment of various drivers of
corruption, including complex bureaucratic
environments, weak rule of law, the absence of
effective checks and balances, as well as a low level of
judicial independence [11, 12]. Tellingly, Freedom
House [2] accords the status of “Partly Free” to
Bangladesh with a score of 45/100, stating that under
the AL government, anti-corruption efforts have been

Md. Rezwanul Kabir et al., Saudi J. Humanities Soc Sci, Jan, 2021; 6(1): 18-25
© 2021 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 20
weakened by politicised enforcement and subversion of the judicial process.
Source: Index of Public integrity IPI 2017.
Forms of Corruption
Political and Grand Corruption
Corruption is so pervasive at both micro and
macro levels that it threatens to become a way of life
[8]. Elites in Bangladesh may well have manipulated
the political process to suit their own ends, just as they
have developed elaborate corrupt practices both to look
after their friends and to preserve their own positions in
power [14]. This gives rise to the phenomenon of what
Mungiu-Pippidi [15] calls “particularism”, a mode of
social organisation characterised by the regular
distribution of public goods on a non-universalistic
basis that mirrors the vicious distribution of power
within such societies. Few anti-corruption campaigns
dare to attack the roots of corruption in societies where
particularism is the norm, as these roots lie in the
distribution of power itself [15]. According to the Open
Budget Survey 2017 by International Budget
Partnership (IBP), Bangladesh scores 41/100 on the
Open Budget Index. IBP notes that Bangladesh
provides the public with limited budget information, as
countries that score above 60 on the Open Budget Index
are considered to be providing sufficient budget
information to enable the public to engage in budget
discussions in an informed manner. The biggest
impediment against effective corruption control in
Bangladesh, as is the case in most other countries where
corruption is pervasive, is that political commitment
remains far from truly enforced without fear or favour,
which allows corruption to be often condoned and
protected [8]. Thus, due to the high levels of corruption
at the top, and the consequent poor enforcement of
legislation and often biased to favour those with
political connections, there is a requirement for graft to
be weeded out not just by top-down but also bottom-up
approaches, including the media and civil society.
Petty and Bureaucratic Corruption
Although salaries in the public sector have
increased over the past few years, bribery remains
widespread and constitutes an important source of
income of public officials in Bangladesh [16].
According to TI Bangladesh, the hike in salaries has not
helped to deter bribery because the incentive structure
that allows public officials to extract bribes still
remains: public office holders are rarely subjected to
judicial or parliamentary scrutiny. Corruption in public
office is very high. The rent-seeking elements in the
bureaucracy always try to please their political boss,
favouring the status quo [3]. Additionally, promotions
and appointments in the public sector are often based on
political considerations [3]. There is a high risk of
corruption in the Bangladeshi land administration.
Companies express insufficient confidence in the
government’s ability to protect property rights.
Bangladesh’s most prominent construction scandal is
the collapse of an eight-storey garment factory in April
2013, which killed over 1,100 people. The factory
suffered from a faulty construction that violated
building codes. The incident highlights the larger issue
of a lack of good governance, corruption, limited
resources, bribes involved in licensing and permits, or
collusion between factory owners and safety inspectors,
which allows facilities to remain operational even when
dangers are identified, much to the detriment of
workers’ health and safety [17, 3].
Some field level studies have found that to
obtain a work order of any infrastructure project around
10%–20% of the project cost is to be paid as bribes to
ruling party leader, 15%–20% to mayor, engineers and
civil managers, and 2%–3% percent to other officials
[18].
Sectors Affected by Corruption
Service Delivery

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Analysts observe that bribery, rent-seeking and
inappropriate use of government funds, excessive
lobbying, long delays in service performance, pilfering,
irresponsible conduct from government officials, and
excessive bureaucratic intemperance and mind-set have
made public sector departments associated with law
enforcement, water supply, electricity, gas supply,
education, waste disposal, health, transportation, issue
of passports and maintenance of land records
susceptible to corruption. Lack of proper accountability
appears to have also been a cause for this susceptibility
to corruption [19]. The World Economic Forum’s
Global Competitiveness Index 2017–2018 ranks
Bangladesh 99/137, and it provides ranks on the
following parameters:
1. Diversion of public funds – 75/137
2. Favouritism in decisions of government officials –
106/137
3. Strength of auditing and reporting standards –
120/137
Politicisation of recruitment in universities and
schools affects the standard of education in Bangladesh.
Those who fall from political grace are appointed as
officers in special duty (OSD) and are not given any
responsibility. For example, in January 2016, five
senior bureaucrats holding the rank of additional
secretary were made OSDs at the public administration
ministry [3]. In fact, nepotism and political affiliations
are common factors influencing the recruitment and
training of teachers in Bangladesh [20]. Although,
primary education in Bangladesh is ostensibly free (for
children aged 5–13), a household survey from 2009
found that, 66% of households reportedly had to make
unauthorised payments to secure admission of their
child into class one (ages 5–7) [20].
Judiciary
Although on paper the judiciary is independent
and has been separated from the executive since 2007,
the executive still maintains control over judicial
appointments, and the judiciary remains closely aligned
with the executive branch [17].
Apart from being known as corrupt, the
judicial process in Bangladesh is sluggish with appeals
are subject to lengthy delays [21, 17]. Delays in the
recruitment of judges have left several hundred
positions in lower courts vacant, leading to a substantial
case backlog [17].
Anti-corruption efforts have been weakened by
politicised enforcement and subversion of the judicial
process under the incumbent AL government [2]. The
judiciary does not always protect the constitutional right
to a fair and public trial due to corruption, partisanship,
and weak human resources and institutional capacities
[21].
Companies face a high risk of corruption in the
Bangladeshi judicial system. Corruption is perceived to
be widespread in lower courts. Magistrates, attorneys
and other court officials frequently demand bribes from
defendants or rule based on loyalty to patronage
networks. Enforcing a lawful contract is a big challenge
for businesses as it is uncertain, takes an average of
1,442 days and is extremely costly [17].
Security Forces
The police force is the most corrupt institution,
followed by the civil service, political parties and the
judiciary in Bangladesh [22]. There is a high risk of
corruption when interacting with Bangladeshi police.
Businesses ranked the Bangladeshi police as one of the
least reliable in the world and noted business costs due
to crime and violence [17]. Law enforcement agencies
were likewise found to be the public bodies with whom
citizens are most likely to experience corruption
according to the National Household Survey 2017
conducted by Transparency International Bangladesh
(TI-B) (TI-B 2018).
Police harassment in exchange for bribes is
common. Public distrust of police and security services
deters many from approaching government forces for
assistance or to report criminal incidents. Security
forces reportedly used threats, beatings, kneecappings
and electric shocks, and some officers committed rape
and other sexual abuses – all with impunity [21].
A 2015 survey to assess the Trust Index on
different institutions in Bangladesh by the Power and
Participation Research Centre (PPRC) found that trust
in the police was low in Dhaka (14.2 percent) and rural
areas (13.2 percent), and moderate in other urban areas
(20.0 percent) [10].
The Bangladesh military has directly ruled the
country for 15 of its 46 years of existence. Bangladesh’s
armed forces also have a dual role as internal security
forces and are repeatedly called on to prevent civil
unrest. Such is its power that even Bangladesh’s
democratically elected civilian leaders have been forced
to tread carefully around the military [23]. The armed
forces have also been known to carry out human rights
abuses with impunity, including extrajudicial killings,
torture, arbitrary or unlawful detentions, and forced
disappearances, US Department of State 2017 [1].
Impact on the poor
Corruption in Bangladesh hinders proper
allocation of resources, weakens public services,
reduces productivity, worsens poverty, marginalises the
poor and creates social unrest [24]. The Bangladeshi
poor are deprived of equal access to education and
white-collar jobs. Irregularities in appointments were
visible and, in many cases, those with political
affiliation or willing to pay bribes were employed over
meritorious candidates. Extreme poverty often forced
people to accept unsafe, poor working conditions, often

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© 2021 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 22
for long hours. The government introduced a gender
sensitive budget in 40 ministries; however, women
remain socially marginal and victims of violence. They
face discrimination in the workplace and have lower
wages [3].
Corruption has an in-built bias against the poor,
disadvantaged and low-income sections of society.
They are directly affected by the increased cost of
public services for bribery and have limited or even
lack access to services because of they cannot pay a
bribe [8].
TIB’s 2012 National Household Survey
showed that, while corruption affects everyone, poorer
sections of the society suffer more. Cost of petty
corruption was estimated to be 4.8% of average annual
household expenditure. More importantly, for
households with the lowest range of expenditures, the
rate of loss is much higher at 5.5%, compared to higher
spending households where it is 1.3%. Thus, the burden
of corruption is greater for the poor [25].
Changing this culture of corruption remains
difficult as there has been a tendency for citizens to not
just tolerate corruption but to respect those who are
seen as clever and savvy enough to use their office to
look after themselves, their friends and their families.
The fact that money is often made through dubious
means can frequently be overlooked; public servants
who play the game and manipulate rules to suit
themselves are seen as being worthy of emulation and
admiration. In short, corruption is widely perceived to
grease the wheels and to help ensure that preferred
outcomes come quickly, efficiently and effectively [14,
26].
How successful have anti-corruption efforts been?
Numerous studies have concluded that despite
the existence of reasonably sound legal framework, the
implementation and enforcement of legislation is
largely inadequate, and a culture of non-compliance
generally prevails [27, 3, 2].
Hough [14] observes that Bangladeshi
governments of all colours have claimed that they want
to tackle corruption. This has led to a series of high
profile, top-down campaigns involving new legislation,
the introduction of new institutions and ultimately, the
high profile arrests of certain politicians. Despite initial
enthusiasm among much of the Bangladeshi population,
the success of these attempts has, however, been
minimal. For instance, while the passing of the Right to
Information (RTI) Bill and the subsequent
establishment of the Information Commission was
hailed as victory by many, as discussed in the following
section there are still issues surrounding its proper
execution [1, 10].
Recent analysis by Khan [28] notes that, while
Bangladesh has some of the worst governance and anti-
corruption scores in the world, since 1980, it has made
moderate to good progress on different indicators of
economic and social development. Thus, it is Khan’s
view that anti-corruption and governance initiatives in
Bangladesh have to be located in the context of this
paradox. Part of the explanation might be found in the
fact that anti-corruption strategies in Bangladesh have
largely been of the systemic type, primarily focused on
the demand side, i.e. interventions intended to improve
the quality of public institutions through the promotion
of transparency, the investigation of corruption and the
imposition of legal penalties through prosecution [28].
Such measures are reliant on a system of vertical
enforcement that remains weak in Bangladesh.
Indeed, while the country already had most of
the formal legislation to be compliant with UNCAC
when it acceded to the convention in 2007, the problem
in Bangladesh is the informal processes and power
relationships that prevent the implementation of these
laws [28].
Moreover, direct investigations into allegations
of high-level corruption in the current political climate
are unlikely to be effective and may even be
counterproductive, as in the Padma Bridge case [28].
The Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) Research
Consortium recommends that implementable anti-
corruption activities should have a low profile, and be
based on an outcome-oriented and incremental set of
policy proposals. The emphasis should not be on
prosecution and punishment but on finding policy
combinations that create incentives for stakeholders in
particular sectors or activities to behave in more
productive ways.
As such, Khan suggests that alternative
anti-corruption strategies should be designed which
seek to exploit the “supply side” by capitalising on the
country’s robust civil society and relatively active
media sector, ACE 2017. Thus, the importance of social
accountability initiatives and civil society contributions
to anti-corruption efforts become all the more apparent.
Iftekharuzzaman, TI-B 2017 seems to concur with this
assessment, stating that alongside political will, the
impartial application of justice and the accountable
operation of integrity institutions, efforts to curb
corruption will rely on a conducive environment for
citizens, journalists and civil society representatives to
strengthen the demand for good governance.
In this respect, there are some encouraging
developments. The earlier introduction of a Citizens’
Charter (CC) in 2000 has gone into the 2nd Generation
starting in 2010, with the objective of providing a
platform for civil servants and citizens to discuss the
services needed by citizens [10]. In addition, a new
performance appraisal system has been launched on a
pilot basis to appraise the role and function of public
sector employees on the basis of mutually agreed on

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© 2021 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 23
performance indicators [10]. Finally, to enhance
financial accountability, an initiative called the
“Strengthening Public Expenditure Management
Programme” (SPEMP) has also been undertaken with
the aim of building a more strategic and performance-
oriented budget management process [10].
Legal and institutional anti-corruption framework
International Conventions
Bangladesh signed and ratified the United
Nation Convention against Corruption in 2007,
UNODC 2018. The country also signed the United
Nations Convention against Transnational Organised
Crime in 2011, UNTC 2018.
Domestic Legal Framework
Bangladesh will celebrate 50 years of
independence in 2021. In this context, there are several
prospective plans like Vision 2021, the 7th Five Year
Plan (7FYP) and the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), and the country has prioritised countering
corruption in all these strategic policy processes. For
example, in Vision 2021, a political manifesto from the
Awami League asserts the aspiration of government to
fight against corruption tor sustainable development,
and goal 5 (of 8) is to ride society of corruption [16].
Bangladesh is no longer on the Financial Action Task
Force list of countries that have been identified as
having strategic anti-money laundering (AML)
deficiencies, and there are no sanctions against the
country KnowYourCountry 2018. However, a report by
the US Department of State 2016 found that black
market money exchanges remain popular because of the
limited convertibility of the local currency, cash-based
economy and scrutiny of foreign currency transactions
made through official channels. Alternative remittance
and value transfer systems also are used to avoid taxes
and customs duties. Additional terrorism financing
vulnerabilities exist, especially the use of non-
governmental organisations (NGOs), charities,
counterfeiting and loosely-regulated private banks.
Institutional Framework
A National Integrity Strategy (NIS) was
approved by Cabinet in October 2012. Subsequently,
NIS units have been established at each ministry and a
National Integrity Advisory Committee has been
formed with the Prime Minister as its Chair. The overall
purpose of a National Integrity Strategy is to provide a
system of governance that creates trust among citizens.
The Government also plans to establish an Ethics
Committee composed of the heads of the institutions
[10].
Anti-Corruption Commission
In Bangladesh, the (ACC) was established in
2004 as a neutral and independent institution under the
Anti-Corruption Commission Act of 2004. It addresses
anti-corruption in Bangladesh in three broad categories:
legal, institutional and other actors [16]. The 2018
Freedom House report states that the ACC has become
ineffective and subject to overt political interference,
and that the government continues to bring or pursue
politicised corruption cases against BNP party leaders.
In 2016, the government pushed the Anti-Corruption
Commission (Amendment) Bill through parliament,
which reauthorised police to pursue cases of fraud,
forgery and cheating under eight sections of the penal
code [29, 30].
Comptroller and Auditor General
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor
General (OCAG) is responsible as the country’s
supreme audit institution for auditing government
receipts and public spending. It is also tasked with
ascertaining whether expenditures have yielded value
for money in government offices, public bodies and
statutory organisations. Appointed by the president of
the republic, the comptroller and auditor general (CAG)
heads the supreme audit institution. CAG has the
mandate to determine the scope and extent of auditing,
CAG 2018.
Although the OCAG audits government
expenditures, it rarely requests that the government
explain large-scale spending or points to irregularities
in expenditure [3].
Law Enforcement
A notable effort have been made to improve
integrity in the country’s law enforcement agencies is
the Police Reform Programme (PRP), sponsored by
international development partners. It is a
comprehensive capacity building initiative aimed at
producing a more effective and representative police
force UNDP 2015. Under the reform programme, the
police has doubled the number of female officers, set up
52,000 Community Policing Forums and the country’s
first Victim Support Centre UNDP 2015. Despite this,
law enforcement bodies still occupy the highest rank in
civilians’ experience of corruption according to TI-B’s
2017 National Household Survey TIB 2017.
Civil Society
Civil society in any country plays a pivotal
role in anti-corruption efforts. Not only does civil
society act as a watchdog exposing cases of corruption,
it also spreads awareness, proposes alternatives and
offers a platform for a coalition of actors to work
together [31]. Over the years, Bangladesh has become a
vibrant polity for the participation of various
institutions in its development paradigm and
governance structures, as well as anti-corruption efforts
[32]. However, the Foreign Donations (Voluntary
Activities) Regulation Act, which took effect in 2016,
has made it more difficult for NGOs to obtain foreign
funds and has given officials broad authority to
deregister NGOs that make “derogatory” comments
about government bodies or the constitution, which
further curbs the independence of such organisations [1].

Md. Rezwanul Kabir et al., Saudi J. Humanities Soc Sci, Jan, 2021; 6(1): 18-25
© 2021 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 24
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB)
TIB is an independent, non-governmental,
non-partisan and non-profit organization dedicated to
anti-corruption, good governance, accountability and
transparency in the country, TIB 2018. It is a national
chapter of the global anti-corruption NGO,
Transparency International. Starting as a trust in 1996,
and later gaining NGO status in 1998, its mission is to
catalyse and strengthen a participatory social movement
to promote and develop institutions, laws and practices
for countering corruption in Bangladesh and
establishing an efficient and transparent system of
governance, politics and business (TIB 2018). The
current 2014–2019 strategy, Building Integrity Blocks
for Effective Change (BIBEC) aims to strengthen a
series of mutually supportive and reinforcing “integrity
blocks” to effectively reduce corruption. “Blocks” here
imply the key institutions, policy/law, education,
training, ethics and values and, above all, the people of
the country (TIB 2014).
Conclusion and Recommendations against
corruption
Above all, what is needed for zero tolerance to
yield concrete result is a comprehensive, target-oriented
National Anti-Corruption Strategy developed by
engaging relevant experts and stakeholders, and for be
strictly enforced and independently monitored in the
short-, medium- and long-term. In view of point
practical recommendations against corruption and calls
the contending political parties to commit themselves
on their implementation:
 Reform the Elections Committee that monitors
campaign expenditures by: excluding MPs
participation, developing a strong monitoring
mechanism (i.e. cross-check with tax data),
imposing stronger penalties with direct reference to
the Electoral Court.
 Post MPs’ asset disclosure declarations on the web
(from the beginning of their political careers up to
date).
 Ban the granting of loans to political parties when
using future state funding as collateral, beyond
current fiscal year.
 Breakdown major electoral districts into smaller
ones (such as the Region of the greater area of
Athens) that facilitate -due to extraordinarily high
campaign costs- the interaction between politicians
and other mechanisms (media, business etc),
increasing opportunities of corruption.
 Reform the selection process for the heads of the
supreme judiciary positions by establishing an
independent body of judges, ensuring total
independence of the judiciary and excluding the
intervention of the Executive Power from any step
of this process.
 Immediate referral of ministers accused of criminal
offenses to the judicial council as per Article 86
paragraph 4 of the Constitution, which will decide
whether to refer or not each case to the special
court of that Article.
 Implement Code of Ethics for MPs and members of
the government.
 Establish impediments (minimum 3 years delay)
for the occupation of specific political positions by
retired judges.
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