Bangladesh : Enhancing the Institutional Capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission

Sovereign Project | 50126-001

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is a statutory and independent organization of the Government formed under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004. Its functions are mainly two fold. Firstly, to enquire and investigate the allegations of corruptions and prosecute the cases. Secondly, to create awareness against corruption and to promote the values of honesty and integrity. Proper investigation, prosecution and timely disposal of cases leading to conviction are critical for ACC to become effective and gain public confidence. Presently, there are more than 6,235 pending enquiries and investigation and the number of cases under trial/pending in special judges' courts and higher courts is around 4,000. There are around 300 enquiry officers (EOs) & investigating officers (IOs) and more than 120 public prosecutors at the disposal of ACC to enquire, investigate and prosecute the cases.

Project Details

  • Project Officer
    Bar, Gobinda
    South Asia Department
    Request for information
  • Country/Economy
    Bangladesh
  • Modality
  • Sector
    • Public sector management
Project Name Enhancing the Institutional Capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission
Project Number 50126-001
Country / Economy Bangladesh
Project Status Closed
Project Type / Modality of Assistance Technical Assistance
Source of Funding / Amount
TA 9285-BAN: Enhancing the Institutional Capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission
Technical Assistance Special Fund US$ 500,000.00
TA 9285-BAN: Enhancing the Institutional Capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission (Supplementary)
Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund US$ 300,000.00
TA 9285-BAN: Enhancing the Institutional Capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission (Supplementary)
Technical Assistance Special Fund US$ 200,000.00
Strategic Agendas Inclusive economic growth
Drivers of Change Governance and capacity development
Knowledge solutions
Partnerships
Private sector development
Sector / Subsector

Public sector management / Public administration

Gender No gender elements
Description

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is a statutory and independent organization of the Government formed under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004. Its functions are mainly two fold. Firstly, to enquire and investigate the allegations of corruptions and prosecute the cases. Secondly, to create awareness against corruption and to promote the values of honesty and integrity. Proper investigation, prosecution and timely disposal of cases leading to conviction are critical for ACC to become effective and gain public confidence. Presently, there are more than 6,235 pending enquiries and investigation and the number of cases under trial/pending in special judges' courts and higher courts is around 4,000. There are around 300 enquiry officers (EOs) & investigating officers (IOs) and more than 120 public prosecutors at the disposal of ACC to enquire, investigate and prosecute the cases. ACC does not have any automated system to monitor and evaluate the activities of the EOs, IOs and the public prosecutors which is causing delay in quick disposal of the cases.

The proposed TA 'Enhancing Institutional Capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) aims to develop a web-based software titled Investigation and Prosecution Management System (IPMS) for ACC so that the activities of the enquiry and & investigation officers and the public prosecutors could be monitored and the status of a particular case could be easily tracked and ultimately the average time to complete a case could be reduced. It also aims to digitize and archive the documentary evidence relating to a case so that the evidences are not lost or destroyed in the lengthy process of enquiry and prosecution.

Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy

Corruption is a big challenge for ensuring inclusive and sustained economic development of Bangladesh. The incidence of corruption is quite high throughout the public sector. The country ranked 143 among 175 countries in 2017 in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index with a score of 28 on the scale of zero to 100.

To fight corruption effectively the Government has enacted the Anti-Corruption Act (2004) and reconstituted the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). However, enquiry and & investigation and prosecution of cases is still a weak area of ACC. According to ACC estimate, currently it takes more than 36 months to complete the enquiry, investigation and prosecution of a case. The proposed TA aims to strengthen monitoring of the activities of the enquiry & investigation officers and the prosecution officers through the use of ICT so that the cases could be completed within a shorter period of time.

Impact

Efficiency of ACC in combatting corruption improved.

Project Outcome
Description of Outcome

The ACC''s investigation and prosecution monitoring capacity enhanced

Progress Toward Outcome When the project will be completed, the investigation and prosecution capacity of ACC will be enhanced.
Implementation Progress
Description of Project Outputs

1. Investigation and Prosecution Management System (IPMS) developed

2. IPMS operations manual approved

3. Report on the effectiveness of current corruption-prevention activities completed

4. Capacity development activities for the ACC conducted

Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) The TA has made significant progress in achieving its challenging outputs, with $785,512 contracted and $214,383.08 disbursed. A project management consultant, recruited in 2017, has designed the IPMS software and prepared hardware requirement report after studying ACC's business process and conducting extensive consultations with relevant officials, including the ACC management. Under the capacity development activities, 10 ACC officials, including its Secretary and a Member, visited four countries to learn about best practices in investigation and prosecution management. A report, backed by a survey, recommending improvements to the current corruption prevention activities is expected to be completed within November 2021. IPMS modules for complaint, enquiry, investigation and prosecution have been developed. User acceptance test has been completed. The IPMS Training Manual and User Manual have been prepared. Operationalization and commissioning of the IPMS, and training of the ACC staff in IPMS operations are the key activities remaining to be completed under the TA.
Geographical Location Nation-wide
Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects
Environmental Aspects
Involuntary Resettlement
Indigenous Peoples
Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation
During Project Design Stakeholders consulted during project design.
During Project Implementation Diverse stakeholder groups will be consulted during various stages of the project implementation.
Business Opportunities
Consulting Services Recruitment of a consulting firm is in progress. RFP was issued on mid-March 2019. Four firms participated in the EOI and, on evaluation, three consulting firms were short-listed. The firm is being engaged following ADBs Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2015, as amended from time to time) using quality and cost-based selection (90:10) with simplified technical proposal.
Procurement The consultancy involves 116 person-months of consulting services. The main responsibilities of the consulting firm will be to develop, implement, test and operationalize the IPMS at ACC. The estimated contract period is 24 months from the inception of the consultancy services.
Responsible ADB Officer Bar, Gobinda
Responsible ADB Department South Asia Department
Responsible ADB Division Bangladesh Resident Mission (BRM)
Executing Agencies
Anticorruption Commission
Timetable
Concept Clearance 30 Sep 2016
Fact Finding 16 Oct 2016 to 18 Oct 2016
MRM -
Approval 15 Dec 2016
Last Review Mission -
Last PDS Update 23 Sep 2021

TA 9285-BAN

Milestones
Approval Signing Date Effectivity Date Closing
Original Revised Actual
15 Dec 2016 14 Mar 2017 14 Mar 2017 30 Jun 2019 14 Dec 2021 29 Jun 2022
Financing Plan/TA Utilization Cumulative Disbursements
ADB Cofinancing Counterpart Total Date Amount
Gov Beneficiaries Project Sponsor Others
700,000.00 300,000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1,000,000.00 15 Dec 2022 918,606.30

Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.

The Access to Information Policy (AIP) recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. It establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced.

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In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of, or reference to, a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.


Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.

None currently available.


Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation

Title Document Type Document Date
Bangladesh: Enhancing the Institutional Capacity of the Anti-Corruption Commission Validation of Technical Assistance Completion Reports Jul 2023

Related Publications

None currently available.


The Access to Information Policy (AIP) establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced in its operations to facilitate stakeholder participation in ADB's decision-making. For more information, refer to the Safeguard Policy Statement, Operations Manual F1, and Operations Manual L3.

Requests for information may also be directed to the InfoUnit.


Contracts Awarded

Contract Title Approval Number Contract Date Contractor | Address Executing Agency Total Contract Amount (US$) Contract Amount Financed by ADB (US$)
Capacity Development Technical Assistance 9285 24 May 2019 TechnoVista Limited (BANGLADESH) | Road No. 9/B, House No. 04, Nikunja-1, D Bangladesh Anticorruption Commission 420,709.00
Capacity Development Technical Assistance 9285 05 Dec 2017 TECHNOHAVEN COMPANY LIMITED(BANGLADESH) in association with PMTC Bangladesh Limited(BANGLADESH) | 70 GREEN ROAD, FATTAH PLAZA, 9TH FLOOR, Bangladesh Anticorruption Commission 190,304.00

Procurement Plan

None currently available.