Transparency International has indicated that corruption is increasing in Bangladesh as the country slides two steps to the 10th position from the bottom among the 180 countries covered by its Corruption Perception Index 2023.

Bangladesh, who were in the 12th position in the same index in 2022, ranked 149th in 2023, down from 147th position in the previous year, while its points dropped to 24 points out of 100 in 2023 from 25 points in 2022.

The Berlin-based anti-graft watchdog’s Bangladesh chapter, Transparency International Bangladesh, presented the results of CPI 2023 on Tuesday at a press conference at its office in Dhaka, terming Bangladesh’s performance as ‘disappointing.’

‘State institutions, including the Anti-Corruption Commission, are increasingly under political and bureaucratic influence, which is a key factor behind the promotion of corruption,’ said TIB executive director Iftekharuzzaman at the press briefing.

Ruling Awami League general secretary and road transport and bridges minister Obaidul Quader said at a press briefing that the TIB report on the Corruption Perception Index was politically motivated.

‘The government does not care about such slander made to protect the interests of any alliance or country,’ he said.

An analysis of Bangladesh by the TIB shows that the country’s score is two points lower than in 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018, and four points lower than the highest score of 28 so far in 2017.

The 2023 score of 24 is the lowest point for Bangladesh since 2012.

Iftekharuzzaman said that Bangladesh continued to disappoint with its results as there were no strategic initiatives to transform the rhetoric of zero tolerance against corruption into practice.

‘No effective action against endless exposures to money laundering, mixed signals in the judicial process—call for action contradicted with lack or freeze of action,’ he said.

TIB noted corruption in public institutions services continued unabated, especially bribery, misappropriation of government funds, and abuse of public office for private gain.

It also blamed nepotism and partisan influence in public sector appointments, the protection and reward of alleged abuses of power, breaches of integrity, and violations of laws for growing corruption.

TIB also said that political and government positions were treated as a licence for abuse of power and policy capture for abuse of lobby power, ravaged by loan defaults and related swindling, financial fraud, and money laundering.

It also said that sustained control and intimidation of the media and civil society, surveillance, and reprisal of disclosure and reporting on corruption were also factors behind such results.

‘They [government] claim that they have come to power with a democratic process and a big mandate. But their behaviour is like that of Afghanistan and Ukraine. Their behaviour says that the source of their power lies elsewhere, not with the people of the country,’ TIB chairperson Sultana Kamal said at the press conference, replying to a question about the government’s reaction to CPI.

‘When our report is published, the government reacts in a way as if the state is at war,’ she said.

The government talks about the free flow of information and freedom of expression, but they do not allow it, she added.

TI said that Bangladesh was among 122 countries that scored below 50, a score that indicated serious corruption.

The country also scored 19 points lower than the global average of 43. It is among 105 countries that have scored lower than the global average, a further indication of very serious corruption.

According to the CPI, Bangladesh is the 4th most corrupt country among 31 Asia-Pacific countries and second in South Asia, ahead of only Afghanistan.

Among the South Asian countries, Bhutan continued to score the highest and ranked 26th from the top, followed by India (93), the Maldives (93), Nepal (108), Sri Lanka (115), Pakistan (133), and Bangladesh (162).

Bangladesh had earlier found its place at the bottom in five successive years, from 2001 to 2005.

Its rank improved in the following years, but it never went above the 17th position from the bottom in the CPI.

TI prepares the CPI report annually on dozens of countries and territories around the world on the basis of perceived levels of public-sector corruption.

CPI data shows that compared to 2022, the overall global situation in 2023 worsened as the scores of 55 countries improved, 63 countries declined, and 62 countries remained the same.

Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, and Norway held the top positions.

The CPI 2023 also shows that countries that have democratic regimes where civil and political rights are protected have a better possibility of effectively combating graft.

Besides, with declining democracy and rising authoritarianism worldwide, justice systems are getting weakened, leading to reduced accountability, increased graft, and impunity for the corrupt, the report said.

TIB said that Bangladesh could improve its CPI score by effectively challenging impunity and bringing the corrupt to justice, irrespective of status or identity.

Depoliticizing and debureaucratizing the state institutions, upscaling the professional integrity and impartiality of the ACC, and freeing the public service, administration, and law-enforcement agencies from partisan political and bureaucratic influence are also needed, said the TIB.

The banking sector, the TIB further said, should be salvaged from the edge of collapse through transparency and accountability.

TIB also suggested ensuring the freedom of the media, civil society, and people for unrestricted disclosure, reporting, and commenting on corruption.