Lies in the Truth Commission

The Truth and Accountability Commission (Tac) has allegedly allowed many graft suspects to be spared prosecution by surrendering wealth way less than what they were found to have 'amassed illegally'.
Despite wide discrepancies between findings of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) probe into assets of those accused of graft and the confessional statements made for clemency, the truth commission did not ask for ACC's views, said sources involved in the anti-graft drive.
Of those listed by ACC as corruption suspects, 270 sought exemption from prosecution in return for voluntary disclosure and surrender of their ill-gotten wealth.
Of their statements to Tac, only one's tallies with findings of the ACC investigation. The rest vary widely from the probe outcomes.
Still, the truth commission, which does not have the investigation authority, issued them with clemency certificates, said the sources.
Contacted, Tac Chairman Justice Habibur Rahman Khan last night said, “There's no provision requiring us to seek any information or explanation from any source, be it Anti-Corruption Commission or National Coordination Committee.
“We heard what the applicants confessed, and made our decisions. That's all we can do according to the law concerned.”
The 270 graft suspects have admitted to having ill-gotten wealth worth only Tk 28 crore before Tac, whereas ACC investigation revealed they have assets worth no less than Tk 400 crore.
Around 130 of them own more than Tk 1 crore each while some own as much as 17 crore each.
Sources in ACC said the amount of ill-gained assets held by the 270 could have gone much higher had the investigation been done properly.
Tac, which began functioning on August 3 last year and packed up early January, has imposed fines of Tk 36 crore on the applicants. Of the amount, about Tk 34 crore has been deposited in the state coffers, said the commission chairman.
The truth commission was set up for five months under Voluntary Disclosure Ordinance 2008 with an aim to lessen the burden of the judiciary that is overwhelmed by the number of graft cases.
According to the ordinance, a person can seek to be excused graft proceedings by disclosing to Tac the wealth earned beyond known sources of income and depositing those in the public exchequer.
It says if anyone conceals anything while making disclosure, an investigation or action measures can be taken in that regard.
ACC Director General Col Hanif Iqbal said, “The objective of establishing the truth commission has been negated considerably.
“The graft suspects did not avail themselves of the opportunity with right spirit. Instead, they got off the hook by taking advantage of the provision.”
Meanwhile, ACC officials said they will take the next course of action as per the voluntary disclosure ordinance. It means they will start dealing with the cases from where they left off to forward those to Tac.
As of December 1 last year, Tac received from ACC 291 cases of individuals seeking exemption from prosecution in return for surrender of wealth to the state.
Of those, four including one involving a son and relative of a former judge have been sent back to the anti-graft body for further investigation.
Seventeen of the suspects permitted by the ACC to apply for disclosure did not collect application forms from the truth commission.
Two thirds of the graft suspects who sought clemency from Tac were government officials.
Politicians suspected of graft did not go to Tac as admitting accumulating wealth illegally would bar them from holding public office and contesting polls for the next five years.
An exception was Major (retd) Kamrul Islam, a former BNP state minister accused of bribery and money laundering.
He has been let off after he confessed to owning wealth worth only Tk 30 lakh. An ACC probe found his assets earned illegally valued at around Tk 17.60 crore.
SOME CONFESSIONS
The only one whose confessional statement agreed with the ACC findings is AKM Faizur Rahman, an ex-chief engineer of Roads & Highways Department (RHD).
He confessed to owning wealth worth Tk 97,91,621.27, the same amount ACC found in its investigation.
As no discrepancy was found in his case, he has been relieved from the charges.
A suspended chief engineer of Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) and her wife claimed they have wealth worth Tk 4.15 crore against Tk 12.05 crore found by ACC. They too were awarded clemency certificates.
A superintendent of customs, who was accused of dishonestly obtaining property worth Tk 1.22 crore, won his certificate by declaring wealth worth only Tk 4 lakh.
Another assistant SCC engineer swore to Tac that he had assets worth Tk 30 lakh beyond his known sources of income, whereas ACC found the amount to be Tk 1.55 crore.
Ex-managing director of a private medicine company admitted to having wealth worth Tk 20 lakh against Tk 2.46 crore discovered by ACC.
Another chief assistant engineer of RHD told the commission that he had ill wealth valued at Tk 17.50 lakh against Tk 2.16 crore unearthed by the anti-graft body.
An executive engineer and his wife surrendered assets worth only Tk 3 lakh, though ACC investigation found they had wealth worth Tk 1.11 crore amassed illegally.