The government yesterday approved in principle the draft of Anti-Corruption Commission (Amendment), Bill 2015, aimed at empowering the Judicial Magistrate courts to deal with cheating and forgery related cases to mitigate the workload of the ACC.
However, trial of the cases of government officials and bankers related to their official duties as well as cheating and forgery over government properties would be held under the ACC Act.
The regular weekly meeting of the Cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat approved the draft, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The ACC proposed exclusion of these sections from the ACC Act as the number of such cases increased enormously, making investigation and trial troublesome, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told journalists after the meeting.
Under the proposed amendment, he said all cheating and forgery cases except those relating to government property and duties of government employees and bankers would be dealt with by judicial judge courts.
The ACC’s workload will reduce as a result while the trial and investigation of other important ACC cases would be expedited, he added.
The draft of the law proposes that the ACC would handover all the under-investigation and under-trial cases related to cheating and forgery to the competent authorities like judicial magistrate courts.
The similar cases which are under primary inquiry of the ACC would be disposed of automatically.
Meanwhile, the ACC yesterday applauded the amendment. “I appreciate the amendment of the ACC act,” ACC Commissioner M Sahabuddin Chuppu said.
“Forgery and cheating cases are difficult for the ACC to handle with its limited manpower. Police can do it easily instead as they have enough manpower.”
Chuppu hoped that the ACC could now be able to work on other cases properly.
On handing over the investigation into money laundering cases to police the commissioner said: “Money laundering offenses are commission’s scheduled job. During the time of Anti-Corruption Bureau such offenses were its jurisdiction.”
The commission can seek support from police or CID to investigate money laundering cases, he said.
“Despite that if the government handovers the investigation power of money laundering cases to police that will be unnecessary and unexpected.”
