TAC summons 17 high officials of BTCL, BRTA

The Truth and Accountability Commission has summoned 17 high officials, both serving and retired, to physically appear before it and explain their alleged involvement in corruption.
‘We have served notices to them as their names were mentioned by other officials who confessed their corruption before the commission in order to get clemency,’ the chairman of the TAC, Habibur Rahman Khan, told reporters at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday.
The officials are from the Bangladesh Telecom Company Ltd and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, said the chairman without disclosing their identity.
He dismissed the possibility of creating a climate of fear among government officials by issuing notices to them, as reported by a section of the press who pointed out that the law under which the TAC was formed empowers him to summon individuals whose names are mentioned by other individuals while confessing their corruption.
‘Summoning the officers is very much within our jurisdiction, and it will help to curb corruption,’ he said
When he was asked about what action would be taken after interrogating the summoned officials, Habibur Rahman said that if they confess their graft they will be welcome to seek clemency from the TAC. ‘If they deny the allegations, they might be referred to some other agencies [for further investigation],’ said Habibur Rahman, adding that his commission might serve further notices if more names are mentioned by the seekers of clemency.
The temporary commission, which came into being in August and will function for five months only, has received so far 313 petitions from individuals seeking clemency to ensure that no criminal proceedings will be drawn against them after they voluntarily disclose their graft and deposit their ill-gotten assets in the state exchequer.
Only 17 individuals have voluntarily submitted petitions to the TAC, and the Anti-corruption Commission and National Coordinating Committee referred 126 and 167 cases respectively to the TAC. Three others were referred by the courts.
The TAC has completed the hearing of 150 cases. The individuals confessed that they had amassed property worth about Tk 19.60 crore through corruption. Of the amount more than Tk 10 crore has been deposited in the national exchequer, according to the TAC.
The TAC has also issued clemency certificates to 18 individuals, which will help them to avoid criminal proceedings in the future.
Asif Ali, one of the two members of the TAC, said that about 98 per cent of the mercy seekers are officials or employees of government or semi-government bodies.