Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh: Powers, Notices, Bail and Defence in 2026

Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh: powers and procedure in 2026

The Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh relies on to police public integrity is, for most people who meet it, not an abstraction but a letter. It arrives as a notice to appear at Segunbagicha, an order to file a statement of assets within a fixed time, a court order freezing bank accounts or a travel ban served at the airport. What happens next depends far less on the headline offence than on how the first weeks are handled: what is said in the interview, what is filed in the asset statement, and whether the procedural safeguards in the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 are used or wasted.

This guide looks at the Commission from the side of the person or company facing it. It covers how the Commission is constituted after the 2025 ordinance lapsed, its powers to summon, search, arrest, freeze and restrict travel, how to respond to a notice to appear and an asset statement order, sanction and the charge sheet, Special Judge trials, and bail, discharge and quashing. The offences themselves are covered in our guide to corruption laws in Bangladesh; this article is about procedure and response.

Summary: The Anti-Corruption Commission is the only body that may inquire into and investigate the offences listed in the schedule to the ACC Act 2004. It can summon witnesses, require documents and information, order a statement of assets, search, arrest, and ask Special Judges to freeze property and bar travel. No court may take cognizance without the Commission's sanction, and cases are tried by Special Judges, with appeals to the High Court Division. The early stages decide most outcomes, so every notice should be treated as a legal event.

Key point: The Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 lapsed after 11 April 2026 without being enacted, so the 2004 Act applies in its earlier form. After a five-month vacancy, a new three-member commission chaired by Justice AKM Asaduzzaman was appointed in August 2026 and has resumed approving cases, charge sheets, freezing orders and travel bans at pace.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

How the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh is constituted in 2026

The Commission was created by the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004, which dissolved the old Bureau of Anti-Corruption and gave the new body its own investigators, prosecutors and statutory independence in the performance of its functions.[1] Section 24 declares the Commission independent in discharging its duties, and section 25 provides for its financial independence.[1] Section 33 requires it to maintain its own permanent prosecution unit for cases triable by a Special Judge, and its prosecutors are deemed public prosecutors.[1]

The Act provides for a three-member commission chosen through a five-member search committee.[6] Decisions that matter most to a person under scrutiny, such as approving a case, a charge sheet, a travel-ban application or an asset seizure, are taken by the Commission itself rather than by individual officers.

Reform proposals and the lapsed 2025 ordinance

The interim government set up an ACC Reform Commission on 3 October 2024. It recommended, among other things, constitutional status for the Commission, five commissioners serving four-year terms, a selection and review committee assessing performance twice a year, abolition of the mandatory pre-investigation inquiry, ACC access to tax records without a court order, a permanent prosecution unit and Special Judge courts in every district with an ACC office.[7]

Part of that package was carried into the Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, which would have allowed up to five commissioners, including at least one woman and one ICT expert, chosen by a search committee led by an Appellate Division judge and including one member of Parliament each from the ruling party and the opposition.[6] After the February 2026 elections the elected government decided not to convert the ordinance into an Act, and it lapsed after midnight on 11 April 2026.[6] The 2004 Act therefore continues in its pre-ordinance form.

The vacancy and the new commission

The chairman and both commissioners resigned on 3 March 2026. Without a sitting commission the ACC could not initiate investigations, file cases, approve charge sheets, seek travel bans or approve asset seizures, although investigations already approved continued.[6] In August 2026 the government appointed Justice AKM Asaduzzaman as chairman, with Dr Jahangir Alam Khan and Dr Md Sazzad Hossain Bhuiyan as commissioners, under the 2004 Act.[8] It has since worked through a backlog of approvals.

The Commission filed 874 cases in 2025, against 451 in 2024, approved 2,536 investigations, against 845, and reported Tk 30,352.75 crore of assets frozen or seized, against Tk 361.45 crore the year before.[6] Freezing and seizure are now ordinary tools.

What the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh can investigate

Section 20(1) provides that, notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure, offences under the Act and its schedule may be inquired into or investigated only by the Commission.[1] The police cannot investigate a scheduled offence, and an ordinary magistrate cannot try one. The schedule, and the full list of offences, is analysed in our corruption laws guide; here the focus is on the charges that actually appear in ACC cases.

The offences most often charged

• Bribery: sections 161 to 165A of the Penal Code 1860, including section 165A, which punishes the giver with the punishment for the offence abetted; section 165B excuses a person coerced into paying.[4]
• Criminal breach of trust: section 409 of the Penal Code, common in procurement, bank-loan and public-fund cases, usually with abetment under section 109.[4]
• Criminal misconduct: section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947, up to seven years, a fine or both, with confiscation; section 5(3) presumes guilt once unexplained disproportionate assets are proved.[3]
• ACC Act offences: asset statement defaults under section 26, and disproportionate assets under section 27, which carries three to ten years and a fine and under which the court presumes guilt once disproportion is proved.[1]
• Money laundering: charges under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 where corruption is the predicate; see our guide to anti-money laundering law in Bangladesh.

How charges are combined in practice

The charge sheet approved on 16 September 2026 against a former law minister and three relatives illustrates the standard package. It alleged Tk 180.86 crore in assets, including holdings in relatives' names, against lawful income of Tk 13.28 crore, and invoked section 27(1) of the ACC Act, section 109 of the Penal Code, section 5(2) of the 1947 Act and sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act.[10] These are allegations, not findings, but the structure is typical: a wealth offence, abetment to reach relatives and nominees, criminal misconduct for the public servant, and laundering for the movement of funds.

Powers of the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh during inquiry and investigation

The 2004 Act distinguishes two stages. An inquiry, or anusandhan, is the work done after a complaint is received or becomes known to establish whether it is prima facie true, before the Commission decides to record a case. Investigation follows once a case is filed.[1] The distinction matters because many people are first contacted at the inquiry stage, when no case exists and the file can still be closed.

Notices, documents and information under section 19

Section 19(1) gives the Commission, for any inquiry or investigation, power to issue notice to witnesses, secure their attendance and question them; to require discovery and production of documents; to take evidence; to call for public records or certified copies from any court or office; and to issue notices for questioning witnesses and examining documents.[1] Under section 19(2) it may direct any person to supply information in their custody, and that person must comply.[1]

Section 19(3) is the enforcement provision. Anyone who obstructs a commissioner or authorised officer in exercising these powers, or knowingly disobeys a direction under section 19(2), commits an offence punishable with up to three years' imprisonment, a fine or both.[1] Ignoring a notice is therefore not a neutral act.

The right to be heard

Section 22 requires the Commission, where it considers it necessary to hear a person connected with a complaint during an inquiry or investigation, to give that person a reasonable opportunity of hearing.[1] This is the legal basis of the notice to appear, and it is also an opportunity: the hearing is the one point before a case is recorded at which the person concerned can put an explanation and documents on the file.

Investigating officers, searches and seizure

The Commission may empower its officers by gazette notification to inquire into or investigate scheduled offences, and an officer so empowered has the powers of an officer in charge of a police station.[1] That brings with it the investigative powers of the Code of Criminal Procedure, including search and seizure of documents and property connected with the offence.[5] If premises are searched, ask for the officer's authority and insist on a seizure list.

Arrest

Section 21 lets an authorised officer arrest, with the court's permission, a person reasonably believed to own or possess property, in their own or another's name, inconsistent with declared income.[1] Separately, investigating officers exercise ordinary police arrest powers once a case is recorded, and the Commission runs trap operations in which an official is arrested in the act of receiving a bribe after a complaint. Our guides to police remand and the rights of the accused explain the safeguards that apply after arrest.

Freezing, attachment and travel bans

The Commission's most commercially damaging powers are exercised through the Special Judge. On 16 September 2026, for example, the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge ordered the seizure and freezing of flats, a vehicle, an investment and bank balances of a former state bank chairman on the Commission's application under section 14 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 and rule 18 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Rules 2007, while the matter was still at the inquiry stage, on the ground that he was trying to sell or transfer assets.[11]

Travel bans follow the same route: on 22 September 2026 the same court barred a former minister's wife from leaving the country after the Commission alleged she had missed the deadline for her wealth statement and was secretly preparing to leave.[12] Foreign executives should read our note on travel restrictions on foreign directors.

Section 20A requires an investigation to be completed within 120 working days of the officer's authorisation. The Commission may extend that by up to 60 working days for reasonable cause; if the officer still fails, the investigation must be reassigned to another officer for completion within 90 working days, and disciplinary action follows.[1] Missed deadlines do not end a case, but they justify pressing for progress.

Receiving a notice to appear: how to respond

A typical notice to appear names the inquiry or case, the allegation in general terms, the date, time and place of appearance and the officer conducting it. The notice served on a former army chief in 2026, for example, was signed by the director leading the inquiry, stated that hearing his statement was essential for a proper investigation and required him to appear at the ACC headquarters in Segunbagicha; on the appointed day in September he asked for 30 days to appear, and the Commission said the next step would be taken according to law.[9]

Work out your status

Establish whether you are called as the person against whom the allegation is made or as a witness, and whether the matter is an inquiry or a recorded case. A witness can become an accused, so prepare the same way.

Ask for time where you need it

A written request for a short adjournment, with reasons, is common and creates a record that you did not disobey the notice. Silence is the worst option: an unexplained absence suggests avoidance and can support travel-ban or arrest applications.

Prepare a written statement and a document bundle

The most effective response to a notice to appear is usually a signed written statement with an indexed bundle: appointment and salary records, tax returns, bank statements, title deeds, gift and inheritance papers and loan agreements. A written statement controls the narrative and limits the risk of loose oral answers being quoted back later.

On the day of the hearing

Attend on time with identity documents and the notice. Answer precisely, do not guess figures or dates, and do not volunteer information about other people. Read any recorded statement fully and correct errors before signing, then make a note immediately afterwards.

The steps below summarise how we prepare clients from the first notice to the end of the inquiry.

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Asset statement orders under section 26

An asset statement order is the wealth tool the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh uses most often, and it is where many defensible cases are lost. Section 26(1) allows the Commission, if satisfied on information and after any necessary inquiry that a person, or someone on their behalf, holds or has acquired property inconsistent with lawful sources, to order that person in writing to submit a statement of assets and liabilities in the manner it prescribes, with any other information specified.[1]

The offence of non-compliance

Section 26(2) makes it an offence, punishable with up to three years' imprisonment, a fine or both, to fail to submit the asset statement or information after receiving the order, to submit one there is good reason to believe is baseless or false, or to produce any book, account, record, declaration or return of that kind.[1] Prosecutions for missed deadlines are common, and they can reach family members: in one such case the Commission went to the Appellate Division to stay anticipatory bail the High Court Division had granted to a former Bangladesh Bank deputy governor's wife and daughter, and on 24 February 2025 the Appellate Division stayed it.[13]

Preparing the asset statement

Treat the asset statement as evidence that will be read against you at trial. Describe every asset consistently with title documents and tax returns, identify each source of acquisition with dates and papers, and address assets held by a spouse, children or dependants, because the Commission attributes nominee holdings to the person under inquiry. Where records are incomplete, say so expressly rather than inventing figures; a statement believed false is itself an offence.

How the Commission tests the statement

The Commission's method is arithmetic. It totals assets held by the person and by relatives or nominees, calculates lawful income, deducts family expenditure to arrive at expected savings, and treats the difference as assets from unknown sources. In the September 2026 charge sheet, lawful income of Tk 13.28 crore less family expenses of Tk 4.66 crore left expected savings of Tk 8.62 crore, against which Tk 172.24 crore was alleged to have no known source.[10] The defence must engage with every line: missed income, overstated values, wrongly attributed assets and unrealistic expenditure assumptions.

Sanction, charge sheet and cognizance

When an inquiry supports the allegation, the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh records a case and an investigating officer completes the investigation within the section 20A timetable. The investigation ends with a report to the Commission recommending either a charge sheet or a final report closing the matter. In either case it is the Commission that decides.

The Commission's sanction

Section 32(1) provides that, notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure or any other law, no court may take cognizance of an offence under the Act without the Commission's sanction given in the prescribed manner, and section 32(2) requires a copy of the sanction to be filed with the court.[1] A missing, defective or mechanically given sanction is a recognised ground of challenge. The reform commission's call to remove the separate requirement of government approval before public officials are charged remains unimplemented because the ordinance lapsed.[7]

Cognizance and the Senior Special Judge

The court takes cognizance on a complaint or on a written police report, which in ACC matters is the charge sheet. Where several Special Judges sit in one area, the government designates a Senior Special Judge with exclusive power to take cognizance, who may transfer cases between judges.[2] Summons or a warrant follows, and an accused who has not been arrested must appear and seek bail.

Special Judge courts and the trial

Section 28 of the ACC Act provides that scheduled offences are triable only by a Special Judge, that the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1958 governs trial and appeal, and that the ACC Act prevails over any conflicting provision of the 1958 Act.[1] Special Judges are drawn from the Sessions judiciary, and a Special Judge who is or was an Assistant Sessions Judge cannot impose death, life imprisonment or a term above ten years.[2]

Procedure that departs from ordinary trials

• Warrant-case procedure: section 6(3) of the 1958 Act applies Chapter XX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which governs trials by magistrates and contains the discharge and charge-framing provisions in sections 241A and 242.[2] [5]
• Prior statements: the accused must receive the prior statements of prosecution witnesses at least one week before the trial begins.[2]
• Accomplice pardons: the court may tender a pardon at any stage to a person who makes a full and true disclosure.[2]
• Evidence of wealth: unexplained wealth or pecuniary accretion is a relevant fact.[2]
• Sentencing: on conviction the court must impose a fine of at least the gain derived and may confiscate property.[2]
• Withdrawal: a prosecution may be withdrawn only on the Commission's written order.[2]

Recent verdicts

On 27 November 2025 a Dhaka court sentenced former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in absentia to a total of 21 years in cases over plots in a government township project, and on 1 December 2025 a Special Judge sentenced her to five years, her sister Sheikh Rehana to seven years and her niece, the British MP Tulip Siddiq, to two years in a related case.[14] The accused did not appoint lawyers and called the charges politically motivated. The cases show that absence from Bangladesh does not stop an ACC prosecution reaching judgment.

Appeals

An appeal from a Special Judge who is or was a Sessions, Additional Sessions or Assistant Sessions Judge lies to the High Court Division, which also has revisional and transfer powers, and the Commission may itself direct an appeal against an acquittal.[2] Our guide to criminal appeals in Bangladesh covers timing and grounds.

Bail in Anti-Corruption Commission cases

Bail is where cases brought by the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh are fought hardest, and the statutory framework is layered.

The statutory framework

Section 11 of the 1958 Act deems offences under it non-bailable, notwithstanding the Second Schedule to the Code of Criminal Procedure.[2] Section 28A of the ACC Act, substituted in 2016, provides that whether offences under the ACC Act itself are cognizable and bailable is governed by that Second Schedule, and the ACC Act prevails over the 1958 Act where they conflict.[1] In practice most ACC accused apply for bail under section 497 of the Code, which governs bail in non-bailable offences, and, if refused, to the High Court Division under section 498.[5]

The Commission must be heard

Section 33(5) of the ACC Act requires the Commission to be made a party to any application for any remedy, at any stage, in a case it has filed or concerning any action it has taken, and prohibits a hearing on bail or any other remedy without giving the Commission reasonable time to be heard.[1] Bail and other applications must therefore be served on the Commission, and an order obtained without notice is vulnerable.

Anticipatory bail and the Appellate Division

Anticipatory bail from the High Court Division is available in principle, but the Commission routinely challenges it. In the asset-statement case mentioned above, the High Court Division granted anticipatory bail on 9 February 2025 and the Appellate Division stayed it on the Commission's application two weeks later.[13] Assume any bail order will be tested on appeal, and build the application on surrender, cooperation, a credible account of the assets and, where relevant, health or age. Our guides to High Court bail and anticipatory bail cover the general principles.

Plea for discharge and other challenges

Not every case that reaches court should go to trial. Three remedies are available to stop a weak or defective prosecution.

Discharge under section 241A

Because Chapter XX of the Code applies to these trials, an accused may seek discharge under section 241A before charges are framed, on the basis that the charge is groundless.[2] [5] In a wealth case the plea usually attacks the Commission's calculation: omitted income, wrongly attributed assets, valuation errors or a mismatched assessment period. In a bribery case it may attack the absence of evidence of a demand. If the plea fails, charges are framed under section 242; see our guide to framing of charges.

Quashing under section 561A and writ petitions

Where the proceeding is an abuse of process, discloses no offence, lacks valid sanction or was investigated by a body without jurisdiction, the High Court Division can quash it under section 561A of the Code.[5] Constitutional writ petitions are used against unlawful notices, excessive freezing orders and other administrative action. TRW's section 561A criminal quashment practice and constitutional and writ litigation practice handle these applications.

Stage by stage: the ACC process and your response

The table below maps each stage of an ACC matter to the legal basis and the response that protects your position. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

The general stages of a criminal case, from first report to execution of sentence, are explained in our guide to the criminal case process in Bangladesh. ACC cases follow that path with the modifications described above.

Mistakes to avoid when dealing with the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh

The same errors recur in ACC matters, and most of them happen before any lawyer is consulted.

• Ignoring or missing a deadline. Non-compliance with a section 19 direction or a section 26 order is an offence in its own right, and a missed asset statement deadline can found a travel-ban application.[1] [12]
• Filing an unreconciled asset statement. Every figure should tie to tax returns, bank records and title documents.
• Moving or selling assets after a notice. Attempted transfers are precisely the ground on which freezing orders are sought and granted.[11]
• Talking loosely at the hearing. The recorded statement becomes evidence. Prepare, answer precisely and correct the record before signing.
• Offering a payment to make the problem go away. It is a fresh offence under section 165A of the Penal Code.[4]
• Applying for bail without serving the Commission. Section 33(5) requires it to be heard.[1]
• Leaving the defence until the charge sheet. The inquiry stage, the hearing under section 22 and the plea for discharge are the cheapest points at which to end a case.

What to watch in 2026 and 2027

Three developments will shape how the Anti Corruption Commission Bangladesh operates over the next year. First, the replacement ACC law: the government has promised a fresh bill, but until Parliament passes one the 2004 Act governs.[6] Second, the new commission's priorities: since August 2026 it has approved wealth and laundering cases against former office-holders at pace, with freezing and travel-ban applications following quickly.[10] [11] [12] Third, judicial supervision: the Appellate Division's approach to bail in ACC cases will continue to set the tone.[13]

For anyone who has received a notice, an asset statement order or a freezing order, the earliest decisions carry the most weight. If you want a clear view of your position, contact TRW.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh?

It is the statutory body created by the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 to inquire into, investigate and prosecute corruption offences. Under section 20 it alone may inquire into or investigate offences in the Act's schedule, and its cases are tried by Special Judges.[1]

Is the ACC (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 in force?

No. The elected government did not convert it into an Act and it lapsed after 11 April 2026. The 2004 Act applies in its earlier form, and a new commission was appointed under it in August 2026.[6] [8]

What happens if I ignore an ACC notice to appear?

Obstructing the Commission or knowingly disobeying a direction to supply information is punishable under section 19(3) with up to three years, a fine or both. Silence can also support travel-ban or arrest applications. If you need time, ask for it in writing.[1]

Can I ask the ACC for more time to appear?

Yes. Written requests for adjournment with reasons are common; in September 2026 a former army chief asked for 30 days to appear, and the Commission said it would act according to law.[9]

What is a section 26 asset statement order?

A written order requiring a person the Commission believes holds property inconsistent with lawful sources to submit a statement of assets and liabilities. Failing to file, or filing a statement believed false, carries up to three years, a fine or both.[1]

Can the ACC freeze my bank accounts before a case is filed?

Yes, through the Special Judge. In September 2026 a Senior Special Judge froze and seized a former bank chairman's flats, vehicle and accounts at the inquiry stage under section 14 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2012 and rule 18 of the ACC Rules 2007.[11]

Can the ACC arrest someone without a warrant?

Section 21 allows an authorised officer to arrest, with the court's permission, a person believed to hold property inconsistent with declared income. Investigating officers also have the powers of an officer in charge of a police station once a case is recorded.[1]

Is bail available in ACC cases?

Yes, but it is contested. Special Judge offences are deemed non-bailable under the 1958 Act, the ACC Act applies the Code's Second Schedule to its own offences, and the Commission must be given time to be heard on any bail application.[1] [2]

Can an ACC case be discharged before trial?

Yes. Special Judges follow Chapter XX of the Code of Criminal Procedure, so an accused can seek discharge under section 241A if the charge is groundless. Abusive proceedings can also be quashed by the High Court Division under section 561A.[2] [5]

Can a person be convicted in absentia in an ACC case?

Yes. If an accused absconds, the Special Judge may order them by gazette notice to appear and, if they do not, try them in absence. Several high-profile defendants abroad were convicted this way in late 2025.[2] [14]