Panama, Paradise Papers: Silence halts ACC probe

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has failed to provide the High Court with a report on whether the Bangladeshi nationals who own properties abroad -- including Canada, Australia, Singapore and Malaysia -- had made the purchases with laundered money.

The reason for the ACC's failure to prepare the report sought by the High Court a year ago is legal complexities, Khurshid Alam Khan, the commission's lawyer, told The Daily Star.

Citing an example, the lawyer said according to Egmont Treaty, a country cannot disclose the names of money launderers without permission from the country where the money was laundered to.

On January 11, the ACC sent a notice to the foreign and home ministries and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) seeking necessary information about the money launderers who purchased properties abroad.

Then on February 8, the commission wrote to the special police super (Immigration).

None replied yet.

The commission, however, yesterday furnished a compliance report to the court containing the names of 43 individuals reportedly published in the Paradise Papers and the Panama Papers as money launderers in 2016 and 2017.

Khan placed the compliance report before the bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice AKM Zahirul Huq in line with its earlier directive during the hearing on two separate rules issued over taking action against the Bangladeshi nationals who purchased properties abroad through money laundering.

One of the rules was issued on November 22 last year following reports punished by newspapers The Daily Star, Prothom Alo, Janakantha and Bangladesh Pratidin on Bangladeshi nationals who bought luxurious properties abroad with laundered money.

Another rule was issued on February 28 following a writ petition filed by lawyers Abdul Qaium Khan and Subir Nandi Das on February 1.

During the hearing yesterday, the bench emphasised the need for cooperation from all to eradicate corruption and money laundering from Bangladesh.

A single person or a body cannot remove corruption from the country; the politicians, judges, lawyers, journalists, civil society members should work together to make Bangladesh a corruption-free country, it said.

The court will resume the hearing today.

Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik represented the state.