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Published : 28 Jul 2025, 09:52 PM
The Anti-Corruption Commission has launched an inquiry against former chief election commissioner KM Nurul Huda, members of his commission, and several officers over allegations of misusing government funds under the guise of training.
On Monday, ACC Director General Md Akhtar Hossain told reporters: “A decision has been made to launch an investigation against the former chief election commissioner, commissioners, secretaries, and others over complaints of causing financial loss to the government and other irregularities by showing fake training programmes and spending Tk 74.75 million from the Election Commission without any official policy.”
He added that the details would come from the probe team and that if other irregularities are uncovered during the process, they too will be brought to light.
Akhtar said the misuse of funds occurred during training activities involving the 11th parliamentary and 5th Upazila Parishad elections.
Asked whether there had been any investigation against the former CEC Habibul Awal-led Election Commission, the anti-graft watchdog’s DG said: “Many other issues may come up during this inquiry."
The 11th national election was held in 2018 under the Huda-led commission. He was arrested on Jun 22 and is currently in jail.
Earlier, in January 2021, 10 Supreme Court lawyers filed a complaint with the ACC against Huda and five EC officials over embezzlement through fake bills.
They also brought allegations against the then commissioners, Mahbub Talukdar, Rafiqul Islam, Kabita Khanam, and retired brig gen Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury, alongside former EC secretaries Alamgir Hossain and Helal Uddin Ahmed.
The allegation states that Tk 74.75 million was spent in the name of training, bypassing the finance ministry’s approval and ignoring the Election Commission's policy, which amounts to a waste of public funds and constitutes corruption.
Referring to the arrest of Anti-discrimination Student Movement (AdSM) leaders on extortion charges, Akhtar says that if there are specific allegations of acquiring illicit wealth, the commission has the authority to intervene.
Several AdSM activists were recently arrested on extortion charges. Media reports claimed some of them own houses and cars, and highlighted their visible wealth.
When asked whether this falls under the ACC’s jurisdiction, the DG responded: “Extortion itself does not fall directly under ACC’s jurisdiction. However, if someone has amassed wealth beyond their known income, it definitely is within our purview.
“If we receive specific allegations, there is no bar for the ACC to investigate.”
Police arrested five people, including the group's United International University wing Acting Convenor Abdur Razzak Riyad, outside the Gulshan residence of former reserved seat Awami League MP Shammi Ahmed on Saturday.
