Bangladesh
ACC-JICA ACC seeks JICA's help to catch high-tech corruption like MTFE
Dhaka, August 22: The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sought the cooperation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in detecting and preventing high-tech corruption like MTFE by going beyond the traditional rules.
According to the agency, ACC officials do not have enough knowledge about highly technical tasks like cryptocurrencies, digital forensic accounts and cybercrime. Not just the ACC, but any government agency in Bangladesh dealing with crime and corruption has no clear understanding of high-tech crime. JICA can assist ACC in that regard if desired.
On Sunday, a delegation of two JICA members held a meeting with ACC Secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain and senior officials of ACC. It is said that direct cooperation has been sought from the ACC in detecting and preventing organized corruption through high technology. JICA Bangladesh Office Senior Program Officer Alimul Hasan and Senior Advisor Takinda Nabuhisa were present in the meeting held in secrecy.
ACC Secretary Md. Mahbub Hossain said, "The delegation has got an idea about the procedures, rules and laws of the ACC. There was an exchange of views on how to further enhance the skills of ACC officers in combating and preventing corruption. No specific agenda was discussed here."
Several ACC officials present at the meeting said that thousands of crores of Bangladeshis are being smuggled in the name of online trading. Recently, a company called MTFE has stolen thousands of crores of money from Bangladeshis in the name of online trading. But most of the government agencies had no idea how these institutions work. There was no oversight by any government agency. After the looting is now being discussed. Common people were cheated right under the nose of the administration. If there was an idea about these high-tech trading in advance, then the crime could have been prevented before it was organized.
Officials also said that JICA is currently working with a focus on five development partner countries including Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal and Vietnam. This is their continuous activity. In Sunday's meeting, the JICA delegation asked to know how the ACC does anti-corruption and prevention work and how efficient the ACC officers are in this regard or whether there is any deficiency in the management of training to improve their efficiency. They got ideas about how to prevent corruption by involving the people of the country.
