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Investigating Fraud and Corruption in Bangladesh

September 29, 2025 0

Corruption in Bangladesh is deep-rooted, systemic, and evolving. This long-form piece examines how fraud and graft operate across public procurement, infrastructure, banking, and politics; tracks institutional strengths and weaknesses; looks at recent cases and developments; and outlines practical steps for reform and for journalists and investigators seeking to expose wrongdoing.

1. Where Bangladesh stands today — a snapshot

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) places Bangladesh deep in the lower ranks of perceived public-sector integrity. In the CPI 2024 release, Bangladesh scored 23 out of 100 and ranked 151 out of 180 countries — a deterioration from previous years that signals widening concerns about transparency and governance. (Transparency.org)

Local stakeholders — civil society, investigative journalists and some public officials — describe a mix of old and new patterns: traditional clientelism and patronage operating alongside sophisticated financial frauds, complex tender-rigging in megaprojects, and banking-sector irregularities that often cross national borders. Recent reporting and watchdog commentary have noted this is not only a governance problem but also a barrier to foreign investment and development. (Transparency International Bangladesh)

2. How corruption shows up (common modalities)

Public procurement and infrastructure

Large infrastructure projects are high-value targets. Tender manipulation, consultant appointments that bypass procedure, inflated contracts and phantom firms are recurring tactics. Reopened probes and audits into major projects show the same fault-lines: weak oversight, concentrated decision-making, and opacity in consultant and sub-contractor appointments. A notable recent development is the Anti-Corruption Commission’s renewed investigation into irregularities in consultant appointments for the Padma Bridge project — a controversy that has returned to public attention after long dormancy. (The Business Standard)

Banking and financial fraud

Bank fraud in Bangladesh takes several forms: insider lending, false collateral, embezzlement via shell companies, and laundering through complex trade transactions. When senior bank officials, politically connected businessmen, or both collude, losses can reach into the billions of taka, with knock-on effects for credit availability and the broader economy.

State capture and politics

Corruption tied to politics is pervasive: favoritism in appointments, the use of regulatory or investigatory powers for political ends, and the privatization or capture of state resources for patronage networks. The politicization of investigative institutions has been a recurring criticism, weakening the public’s trust in impartial accountability.

Everyday corruption

For ordinary citizens, petty corruption remains widespread — bribes at checkpoints, in service delivery offices, and in the local administration. These daily frictions erode public faith and raise the cost of accessing basic services.

3. Institutions meant to fight corruption — capacities and constraints

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)

The ACC is the primary statutory body for prevention and investigation. Yet questions about its independence, legal constraints, and political entanglement persist. Amendments to the ACC’s founding law and historical patterns of selective investigations have limited public confidence. Still, the ACC has produced high-profile probes at times, and recent filings show it remains active in pursuing certain cases. For example, the commission has approved filing cases against prominent figures and reopened long-dormant inquiries, suggesting a renewed, if contested, appetite for enforcement. (Wikipedia)

Judiciary and prosecutorial systems

Courts have the final say on convictions and asset recovery, but judicial delays, case withdrawals, and complex appeals mean many high-value cases take years to resolve. Political interference, real or perceived, further complicates the path to timely justice.

Media, civil society, and donors

Investigative outlets and NGOs have been vital in uncovering scams and pressuring authorities. International donors sometimes use conditionality to enforce transparency, but that strategy can stall when local politics shifts. Global investigative networks have highlighted some of Bangladesh’s best reporting in recent years — a sign that civil society remains a key actor despite risks.

4. Case studies and recent developments

Padma Bridge — a long shadow

The Padma Bridge has been a lightning rod for debates about governance in Bangladesh for more than a decade. Once the subject of international scrutiny and funding withdrawal, the project continued under domestic financing and construction. Recently, Bangladeshi authorities — including the ACC — have again flagged irregularities in consultant appointments and procedural lapses, reopening questions about how oversight failed and how procurement for megaprojects can be made more transparent. The revival of the probe shows how historic controversies can return as new political windows open. (The Business Standard)

High-profile graft cases and shifting political context

The ACC has been filing cases against high-profile individuals, ranging from former lawmakers to banking figures. One recent filing involved allegations of amassed wealth beyond known income for a former lawmaker and bank chairman — an example of how asset-based investigations are being used. At the same time, the political landscape has been volatile, with courts overturning or revisiting previous convictions and political actors contesting the impartiality of prosecutions. (The Financial Express)

Investigative journalism breakthroughs

Independent reporting from Bangladeshi and international outlets has produced in-depth investigations into procurement, environmental impacts, and corruption’s human costs. These investigative pieces, some recognized by international journalism networks, demonstrate the role of data-driven reporting and cross-border collaboration in exposing complex schemes. (Global Investigative Journalism Network)

5. Why corruption persists: structural drivers

  1. Concentrated power — centralized decision-making in ministries and parastatals makes oversight difficult.

  2. Weak institutional safeguards — legal and procedural loopholes allow officials to delay, deflect, or redirect inquiries.

  3. Political economy of patronage — politics and business are intertwined; favour flows to those who support ruling networks.

  4. Low public sector salaries and impunity — poor pay creates incentives to accept bribes; lack of consistent enforcement breeds impunity.

  5. Complex financial instruments and cross-border flows — sophistication in laundering and asset shielding outpaces monitoring capacity.

These drivers mean that technical fixes alone (e.g., e-procurement systems) will not be enough — political and cultural changes are required.

6. Practical recommendations — governance and investigative pathways

For policymakers and reformers

  • Strengthen legal independence of ACC: ensure appointments, funding and prosecutorial autonomy to reduce political interference.

  • Mandate transparent procurement: open e-tender platforms, published evaluation criteria, and real-time disclosure of contract awards and consultant hires.

  • Asset declaration and verification: public, audited asset declarations for senior officials with cross-checking powers.

  • Judicial capacity and anti-delay reforms: fast-track anti-corruption courts and protection for whistleblowers and witnesses.

  • Financial intelligence strengthening: equip the Financial Intelligence Unit and banking supervisors with better forensic tools and cross-border cooperation.

For journalists and investigators

  • Follow the money: focus on procurement records, company registries, land registries, and beneficial-ownership tracing.

  • Data + documents + interviews: combine leaked or right-to-information documents with field reporting and on-the-record sources.

  • Use cross-border networks: collaborate with international reporters and forensic accountants for complex financial chains.

  • Protect sources: employ digital security, secure communication channels, and legal planning for reporting sensitive material.

  • Pursue impact journalism: publish findings with clear evidence and policy recommendations that civil society can leverage.

For donors and civil society

  • Support watchdogs and investigative media: sustained funding for long investigative timelines and legal defence.

  • Conditional but constructive assistance: tie infrastructure financing to enforceable transparency milestones and independent audits.

7. Risks, limits, and the politics of accountability

Investigations must navigate real risks: retaliatory legal or extralegal pressure on journalists and whistleblowers, politicization of anti-corruption efforts, and the potential for reform efforts to be co-opted. International actors can help, but reforms must be locally led and politically credible. The success of anti-corruption measures depends on a broad coalition — civil society, business, media, and reform-minded officials — willing to sustain pressure over years.

8. Conclusion — a contested but consequential struggle

Bangladesh’s challenge is not simply the existence of corruption but its institutionalization — practices and expectations that have become part of how business gets done. The country’s development trajectory, investor confidence and social cohesion hinge on whether meaningful checks and transparency can be established. Recent reopenings of major probes, ACC filings against prominent figures, and a vigorous civil-society press show that windows for accountability still open — sometimes unpredictably. Converting those openings into durable reform will require legal fixes, institutional independence, journalistic persistence, and political will. (Transparency.org)

Further reading & sources (selected)


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