Anti-Corruption Commission

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC, দুর্নীতি দমন কমিশন) is the principal independent agency of Bangladesh charged with preventing and combating corruption. It was constituted under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004 (Act No. 5 of 2004), which came into force on 9 May 2004, replacing the ineffective Bureau of Anti-Corruption (BAC) that had functioned under the Prime Minister's Office and was widely criticised as a politically captured instrument. The ACC formally began operations on 21 November 2004. Its creation responded to mounting domestic and donor pressure, particularly after Bangladesh was ranked among the most corrupt nations in successive Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index reports around 2001–2005. The Commission is designed to be a statutory rather than a constitutional body, deriving its independence from the security of tenure granted to its Commissioners.

The ACC is structured as a three-member body — a Chairman and two Commissioners — appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee that includes judges of the Appellate and High Court Divisions, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and the Chairman of the Public Service Commission. Commissioners hold office for a five-year term and can be removed only on grounds and by the procedure applicable to a Supreme Court judge, insulating them from executive caprice. Under the 2004 Act and the schedule of offences it incorporates from the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 and the Penal Code, 1860, the ACC possesses powers to investigate, inquire, seize assets, summon witnesses, and file cases in special Anti-Corruption Tribunals. It also exercises preventive functions — scrutinising the wealth statements of public servants and recommending administrative reforms.

The Commission has prosecuted high-profile figures across the political spectrum, including cases against former prime ministers and senior bureaucrats, especially during the 2007–2008 Caretaker Government's anti-corruption drive. Its independence has been periodically contested: the Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Act, 2013 introduced a requirement of government sanction before filing cases against public servants under Section 32A, a provision struck down by the High Court Division as ultra vires before being contested in the Appellate Division. Critics, including Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), allege selective enforcement and executive influence. As of 2026 the ACC continues to function as the lead anti-graft authority, though debates over its autonomy, conviction rates, and the adequacy of its enforcement against politically connected accused remain live in public discourse.

For the BCS examination, the ACC is a recurring topic in the Bangladesh Affairs paper and in compulsory governance/constitutional-bodies sections. Candidates should master the founding statute (Act No. 5 of 2004), the date of operation (2004), its three-member composition, the five-judge-equivalent removal protection, and its distinction from the predecessor Bureau of Anti-Corruption. Typical question angles ask for the year of establishment, the appointing authority, the number of Commissioners, the Act under which it operates, and comparisons with constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission. Analytical questions probe its independence and the controversy surrounding the 2013 amendment, making precise statutory citation essential for full marks.