Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Chairman Mohammad Moinuddin Abdullah and two other commissioners -- Md Jahurul Haque and Achia Khatun – tendered their resignation to the President on Tuesday.
“ACC chairman and two commissioners have submitted their resignation letters and left the office quietly soon after resigning at about 2:10pm Tuesday,” a senior official of the ACC said on condition of anonymity. ACC Secretary Khorsheda Yasmin saw them off at the office gate, officials said.
This development comes after the interim government formed the Anti-Corruption Reform Commission earlier this month to propose necessary reforms aimed at making the ACC more effective, independent and impartial.
The resignations come roughly two months after the fall of the Awami League-led government amid a student-led mass uprising.
Moinuddin Abdullah told reporters that he resigned from the post of ACC Chairman on personal ground.
Sources said the resignations of the ACC chairman and the two commissioners came just hours before a scheduled meeting with the ACC Reform Commission in the afternoon. Later, the meeting was postponed.
Moinuddin Abdullah, former agriculture secretary, and Jahurul, former Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission chairman and a former district and sessions judge, were appointed to the posts by the then Awami League government on 3 March, 2021. The duo had joined the office seven days later.
Achia Khatun, former secretary of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission Secretariat, was appointed on 13 June last year. She joined the office on 2 July, 2023.
Officials told reporters that the three informally bid farewell to all employees at the ACC headquarters before submitting their resignations on the day.
According to the Anti-Corruption Commission Act of 2004, a commissioner may resign from his/her office by giving one month’s prior notice to the president.
ACC commissioners are usually appointed for five-year terms. Following the political changeover, the trio resigned before the completion of their tenure.
The ACC chairman enjoys the status and benefits of an Appellate Division justice in the Supreme Court, while a commissioner is equivalent to a High Court justice.
The interim government formed the ACC Reform Commission, with Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman as its head, on 3 October.
The seven other members of the commission are former comptroller and auditor general Masud Ahmed, Prof Mobasser Monem of Dhaka University's (DU) Public Administration Department, Prof Mushtaq Khan from SOAS University of London, Barrister Mahdin Choudhury, Prof Mahbubur Rahman of DU’s Law Department, Supreme Court lawyer Farzana Sharmin, and a student representative.
On 7 October, Iftekharuzzaman told a press briefing that the recommendations for reforming the ACC will be submitted by 31 December.
“ACC is currently held hostage by political influence and bureaucracy. To transform it into an ideal institution, it must be freed from all forms of external pressure,” he said.
He also highlighted that a complete overhaul of the ACC has become essential, including amendments to the sections of the law that the commission finds problematic.
