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Concerned about fair probe scope

WB panel chief reiterates in press statement; says they wait on further info from ACC

Staff Correspondent
Luis Moreno Ocampo, chairman of the World Bank's external panel assigned to review the probe into the alleged graft in the Padma bridge project, yesterday said they were concerned about the current scope of investigation.
"In reviewing the First Information Report based on the evidence available to
the ACC, we are concerned about the current scope of the investigation,” he said in an e-mail statement sent through WB's Dhaka office.
“We have sought clarifications from the ACC on some issues which would be necessary to assess whether a complete and fair investigation is underway.
"We are awaiting a response from the
ACC to these queries in order to move ahead with our assessment," he added.
However, WB Country Director Ellen Goldstein said the dissatisfaction the external panel had expressed was completely of its own.
“This is an external independent panel,” she said. “They do not speak for the World Bank and we do not speak for them."
Goldstein was talking to journalists about ACC's investigation and the external panel's opinion at the capital's Sonargaon Hotel yesterday.
She also said the WB is waiting for the external panel's report, which is expected by the end of this month, before it makes any comment or reaches a decision.
On January 9, Ocampo sent a letter to ACC Chairman Ghulam Rahman putting eight queries on the Padma graft probe and the FIR filed on December 17 last year.
In the letter, he urged the anti-graft body to send a written reply to the questions as soon as practicable.
Earlier on many occasions, WB said after having opinion from its external panel that the investigation is being conducted in impartial manner, the global lender will decide on financing the bridge project.
After a year-long enquiry into the allegation over the much-talked-about project, ACC sued seven people for conspiring to commit corruption.
The accused include former Bridges Division secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan but ex-minister Abul Hossain and ex-state minister Abul Hasan were left out.
Regarding the case, Ocampo in yesterday's statement said, "The external anti-corruption panel has appreciated the frank discussions that we have held with the ACC during our visits to Dhaka.
“We recognise that the lodging of the First Information Report in order to initiate an investigation is an important step forward in addressing evidence of corruption under the Padma Bridge project."
Meanwhile, the ACC chairman said due to lack of corroborative evidence, the commission could not accuse Syed Abul Hossain as it found no evidence against the ex-minister while filing the case.
He was talking to report-ers at the ACC's Segunbagicha head office in the capital yesterday.
Asked whether Abul Hossain will now be included in the list of accused as the external panel in its recent letter to ACC mentioned his name, Ghulam Rahman said, "Now investigation is going on."
Regarding WB Panel's reaction to the ACC case relating to the Padma bridge project, he said "The panel took the FIR as a positivestep."
Though earlier ACC Commissioner Shahabuddin on Monday claimed that the external panel had expressed satisfaction at the filing of the case, the chairman said the panel had expressed neither “happiness” nor "unhappiness” in its letter written to the anti-graft body.
The ACC commissioner came up with the claim when criticism spread over the news that the WB panel is unhappy with the exclusion of Abul Hossain from the list of accused.
The World Bank had cancelled its $1.2 billion funding on June 29, 2012, saying it had proof of a "corruption conspiracy" involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of a Canadian firm and some individuals.
The global lender on September 21 decided to revive the loan after Bangladesh agreed to the bank's terms and conditions.