BANGLADESH has ranked the 151st, two steps lower than the 2023 rank, in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2024 that Transparency International released on February 11. The 2024 score is Bangladesh’s worst since 2012, which has identified the country with a ‘serious corruption problem’ where the government loses the ‘control of corruption’. It remains the second lowest in South Asia, after only Afghanistan, and the fifth lowest in the Asia-Pacific region. The findings do not come as a surprise, as the anti-corruption reforms commission and the white paper on the state of the Bangladesh economy have documented a similar corruption trend. In 2009–2023, illicit financial flows averaged $16 billion annually, more than double the combined value of net foreign aid and FDI inflows, while politically influenced lending practices have left the banking sector with Tk 675,030 distressed asset as of June 2024. The interim government should, therefore, immediately act on the recommendation of reforms commissions to arrest corruption trend.
The Transparency International Bangladesh executive director expresses concern about the continued abuse of power and corrupt practices in public sector governance in the changed political context. The concerns are not misplaced because a lot has been said about combatting corruption, but the interim government appears slow in taking decisive action. The finance adviser has talked about identifying wilful defaulters and bringing them to justice. The chief adviser has talked about effective steps to recover the money laundered, but the effort has so far been limited to seeking support from international bodies working against cross-border financial crimes. A number of organisation, including the Centre for Policy Dialogue and CFA Society, have urged the government to make the loan defaulters’ list public to enhance transparency and limit their access to state services. The central bank is, however, still shielding wilful loan defaulters and continues to conceal the names of habitual loan defaulters, citing legal barriers. In public agencies, bribery and other corruption practices remain persistent. Contrary to expectations, the performance of the Anti-Corruption Commission remains more or less the same after the fall of the Awami League regime.
Drawing from the findings and recommendations of a number of reforms commissions, the government should consider developing a time-bound national anti-corruption strategy, a road map for the depoliticisation of state institutions such as the Anti-Corruption Commission and bureaucracy, law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. It is high time that the government reviewed the laws and regulations that hinder the process of taking action against all involved in major financial crimes during the Awami League regime. The Anti-Corruption Commission should also be given the statutory power so that it can act more independently in the future.
