TRW & Co · Criminal Defence & Bail
Anti-Corruption Case Lawyer in Chittagong (Chattogram): ACC Inquiries, Bail and Trials
An anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong defends public servants, contractors, borrowers and businesses facing Anti-Corruption Commission inquiries, asset statement orders and Special Judge trials. With an amending ordinance lapsing in 2026 and a new draft law pending, the rules on sanction, deadlines and jurisdiction need checking case by case, and the first response to a notice often shapes everything that follows.
Key pointMost ACC cases are won or lost on documents prepared before a case is even filed: a reconciled, year-by-year account of lawful income against every acquisition is the strongest defence to a disproportionate assets allegation.
At a glance
Governing law
The Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 governs; a December 2025 amending ordinance lapsed without parliamentary ratification, and a new ACC draft law is being prepared.
Who gets named
Public servants, contractors, suppliers, bank borrowers, directors and relatives can all be accused, because abetment, conspiracy and benefiting from an offence are covered.
Chattogram forums
ACC integrated district offices Chattogram-1 and Chattogram-2 investigate; Special Judge courts, including the Divisional Special Judge's Court, try the cases.
Asset offences
Section 26 penalises failing to file or falsifying an ordered asset statement; section 27 targets property disproportionate to known lawful income.
High Court protection
Anticipatory bail, quashing under section 561A and writ challenges go to the High Court Division in Dhaka, with further appeal to the Appellate Division.
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What an anti-corruption case means in Chattogram
An anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong defends people and companies who receive a notice, inquiry or case from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC, known locally as Durnity Daman Commission). These matters start quietly, often with a letter asking someone to appear or to submit a statement of assets, and can end in a trial before a Special Judge with imprisonment, fines and confiscation of property at stake.
Chattogram produces more of this work than most districts. The port, the Custom House, the Chattogram Development Authority, the City Corporation, land and sub-registry offices, state banks in Agrabad and large public works along the Karnaphuli all involve public money and discretionary approvals. Where public money and discretion meet private business, allegations of bribery, misappropriation and collusion follow.
The people who receive ACC notices are not only public servants. Contractors, suppliers, importers, developers, bank borrowers, directors and family members of officials are regularly named as co-accused, because the law reaches anyone who abets, conspires in or benefits from an offence. Many recipients have never dealt with a criminal court and do not realise how early the outcome is shaped, which is why an anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong is most useful before the first appearance.
The legal framework: ACC Act, special judges and scheduled offences
The core statute is the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004, which created the ACC as an independent statutory body in place of the old Bureau of Anti-Corruption. The Act gives the Commission power to inquire into complaints, investigate scheduled offences, file cases and conduct prosecutions. The Anti-Corruption Commission Rules set out the internal procedure for inquiries, investigations and the Commission's approval of charge sheets.
Which offences the ACC handles
The ACC does not investigate every crime. Its jurisdiction is defined by a schedule to the Act, which covers offences under the Act itself, bribery and related offences by public servants under the Penal Code, criminal breach of trust and forgery connected to public office, offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947, and money laundering where the predicate offence is bribery or corruption. Two offences under the Act are especially common in Chattogram:
- Section 26: failing to submit a statement of assets when the Commission orders it, or submitting a false or incomplete statement.
- Section 27: owning property, in one's own name or through others, that is disproportionate to known sources of income and cannot be satisfactorily explained.
Both were the basis of a conviction delivered by the Chattogram Divisional Special Judge's Court in October 2026, in a case the ACC's Chattogram-2 Integrated District Office had filed back in 2009. The long gap between filing and verdict is typical, and it is why early defence decisions matter so much.
Courts that try ACC cases
Scheduled offences are triable exclusively by Special Judges appointed under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1958, who apply the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 subject to the special rules. In Chattogram, ACC trials run in Special Judge courts in the court complex, including the Divisional Special Judge's Court. Bail, quashing and appeals go to the High Court Division of the Supreme Court in Dhaka.
| Body | Role | What it means for the accused |
|---|---|---|
| ACC head office, Segunbagicha, Dhaka | Approves inquiries, case filing and charge sheets | Key decisions are taken centrally, so written submissions should be pitched for Dhaka review |
| ACC integrated district offices, Chattogram-1 and Chattogram-2 | Conduct inquiries and investigations, issue notices, file cases | Where you appear, give statements and submit documents |
| Special Judge courts, Chattogram | Take cognisance, decide bail, frame charges and try the case | Trial forum; bail after charge sheet is often argued here first |
| High Court Division, Dhaka | Anticipatory and regular bail, quashing, stays, criminal appeals and revisions | The forum for urgent protection and for challenging defective proceedings |
| Appellate Division, Dhaka | Final appeals, leave petitions and challenges to High Court bail orders | The ACC regularly appeals bail orders it disagrees with |
A law in flux: the 2025 ordinance and the 2026 draft
Anti-corruption law has been unstable since 2024. After the ACC Reform Commission reported in early 2025, the interim government promulgated an amending ordinance in December 2025. It removed the requirement for government approval before cases could be filed against judges and public servants, widened the Commission's reach to offences committed from abroad, set a deadline for investigations and required a Special Judge's court wherever the ACC has a district office.
That ordinance lapsed because parliament did not ratify it, so the ACC Act 2004 in its earlier form governs. According to reporting in The Daily Star, the ACC is preparing a new draft that would keep some reforms, drop others, and extend its jurisdiction to money laundering, insider trading, tax, customs and capital market offences.
Before advising on sanction requirements, investigation deadlines or which offences the ACC can investigate, check the law in force on the date of the alleged offence and on the date of each procedural step. With an ordinance lapsing and a draft pending, an argument that was sound in January can be wrong in October. An anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong should confirm the current text before relying on it.
How an ACC case starts and how to respond
Most matters begin with a complaint. Complaints reach the ACC by letter, through its hotline 106, from media reports, audit objections, bank referrals or other agencies. The Commission screens them and may order an inquiry (onushondhan) by an officer from its Chattogram offices. An inquiry is not yet a case, and it is the best moment to influence the outcome.
Key decisions for an anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong
The first decisions are strategic, not procedural, and an anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong should help make them before anything is filed or said. Should you appear in person in response to a notice? Should you submit documents and a written explanation, or say little? Is there a parallel civil, tax, customs or departmental dimension that the response will affect? Each answer depends on what the ACC already holds and what records you can produce.
Engage at inquiry stage
Appearing with organised documents and a coherent written explanation can lead to a recommendation that the complaint be closed. It works best when the paper trail is strong and the allegation rests on a misunderstanding.
Limit the statement
Where facts are disputed or documents are incomplete, a short, careful response avoids admissions that later become prosecution evidence. Silence is not a crime, but unexplained non-cooperation can harden attitudes.
Seek court protection
If arrest is a real risk after a case is filed, anticipatory bail in the High Court Division may be needed. The application must be made in person and timed carefully.
Challenge the proceeding
Where the ACC acts outside its schedule, without required approvals or on facts that disclose no offence, quashing under section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure or a writ may be appropriate.
See our pages on anticipatory bail and false cases, and the article on quashing under section 561A, for the mechanics of each route.
The process from notice to verdict
ACC matters move through recognisable stages. Timelines vary enormously, from months to many years, and the Commission's own internal approvals add time at each stage.
- Complaint and screening. The ACC receives a complaint and decides whether it falls within its schedule and merits inquiry. Most people are unaware of this stage.
- Inquiry and notices. An inquiry officer collects records from offices, banks and registries and may send notices asking you to appear or to provide documents. In disproportionate assets matters, the Commission may order a statement of assets under section 26.
- Inquiry report and decision to file. The officer recommends closure or filing a case. If the Commission approves, a case is recorded, usually at an ACC integrated district office, and the accused are named.
- Investigation. An investigating officer gathers evidence, records statements, seizes documents and may seek court orders freezing accounts, attaching property or stopping departure from the country.
- Charge sheet or final report. With the Commission's approval, the officer submits a charge sheet naming the accused or a final report recommending discharge. A charge sheet does not mean guilt; it means the case goes forward.
- Cognisance, bail and charge framing. The Special Judge takes cognisance and the accused must appear and seek bail. At charge framing the defence can argue for discharge where the materials do not support the offence.
- Trial and verdict. Prosecution witnesses, often officials and bank officers, are examined and cross-examined. The defence may call evidence. The verdict can include imprisonment, fines and confiscation.
- Appeal. A conviction is appealed to the High Court Division, and onwards to the Appellate Division with leave. Bail pending appeal is often the first battle.
Our general guide to the stages of a criminal case explains the court steps in more detail, and the criminal defence page covers ordinary police cases that sometimes run alongside ACC matters.
Documents and evidence to assemble
ACC cases are document cases. The prosecution builds its case from files, bank statements and registry records, and the defence wins or loses on whether it can explain those records. Start collecting before the first appearance.
- Income tax returns and assessment orders for every relevant year, with wealth statements filed with the National Board of Revenue.
- Bank statements, loan files, FDR certificates and savings certificate records for the accused and, where relevant, family members.
- Title deeds, mutation records, khatians and sale or gift deeds for every property in question, with proof of how each purchase was funded.
- Salary, pension, business income, rental income, inheritance and remittance records that show legitimate sources of funds.
- For contract and procurement allegations: tender documents, evaluation reports, work orders, measurement books, bills, completion certificates and correspondence.
- Office orders, delegation of authority and approval notes that show who decided what, and on whose instruction.
- Any earlier audit objections, departmental inquiry outcomes and replies.
In a disproportionate assets case, the question is rarely whether the property exists. It is whether the money that bought it can be traced, year by year, to a lawful source.
An anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong will usually build a reconciliation schedule: income and lawful receipts on one side, acquisitions and expenses on the other, year by year, backed by documents. That schedule often decides whether a section 27 allegation survives.
Risks and common mistakes
Most damage in ACC matters is self-inflicted in the early weeks. These are the mistakes we see most often.
Treating an inquiry notice as routine
A notice to appear or to provide documents during an inquiry is often treated as an administrative request. It is not. What you say and submit becomes part of the record that decides whether a case is filed, and it can later be used as evidence. Statements made without preparation tend to contain inconsistencies that the prosecution will exploit at trial. Take advice before attending, prepare the documents you intend to rely on, and keep copies of everything you hand over, with a receipt where possible. Ask whether the notice relates to you as a witness or as a person against whom allegations are being examined.
Filing an incomplete or inaccurate asset statement
Where the Commission orders a statement of assets, an incomplete or inaccurate statement is itself an offence under section 26, separate from any allegation of disproportionate wealth. People often omit property held by a spouse, jointly inherited land, old savings instruments or assets abroad because they assume these are irrelevant. They may not be. Prepare the statement from documents rather than memory, reconcile it with income tax returns, and explain any discrepancy openly. A careful statement filed with supporting records is far stronger than a fast one.
Moving or transferring assets after a notice
Selling land, closing accounts or transferring property to relatives after an ACC notice looks like concealment, and it frequently prompts applications to freeze accounts and attach property. It can also expose the recipients to allegations of abetment or money laundering. If there is a genuine commercial reason for a transaction, such as completing a sale agreed before the notice, document it fully and take advice before proceeding. Freezing and attachment orders can be challenged, but it is easier not to invite them.
Ignoring parallel tax and customs exposure
An ACC allegation about income or procurement often has a tax or customs shadow. Explanations given to the ACC about income may contradict figures in tax returns; explanations about imports may contradict declarations at the Chattogram Custom House. Inconsistent positions create new problems in each forum. Coordinate the defence across the tax, customs and criminal tracks so that one consistent account emerges.
Missing the window for anticipatory bail
Once a case is filed, arrest can follow quickly, particularly when the investigating officer considers the accused a flight risk. Anticipatory bail is sought from the High Court Division, the applicant must appear in person, and the ACC is usually heard. Waiting until after arrest means seeking regular bail before the Special Judge, which can take longer. The decision whether to apply, and when, depends on the strength of the allegations and the accused's circumstances, and should be made early.
Cross-border and NRB angles
Many people caught up in Chattogram ACC matters live abroad or have assets abroad. Non-resident Bangladeshis in the UK, the Gulf and Singapore are named because of property bought in Chattogram with remittances, family links to officials, or business dealings with public bodies. Foreign companies appear as contractors or suppliers in procurement cases.
For clients abroad, an anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong first maps the main risks: a departure ban on the next visit, freezing of Bangladeshi accounts and attachment of property while they are absent. Remittance records, overseas employment contracts and foreign tax returns are often the best evidence of lawful income, but they must be properly certified to be useful. Our NRB practice and the article on running a case from abroad explain how instructions, powers of attorney and appearances work.
Where funds moved across borders, money laundering law and mutual legal assistance can be engaged, and requests for information can travel between Bangladesh and other jurisdictions. See our money laundering practice. TRW & Co's offices in Dhaka, Singapore, Dubai and London can help gather overseas records, coordinate with local counsel and keep the Bangladeshi defence consistent with what is said elsewhere.
How TRW & Co helps
As an anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong, TRW & Co acts for individuals and companies at every stage, from the first notice to appeal. Our Bangladesh advocates appear before the Special Judge courts in Chattogram and the High Court Division. We do not promise outcomes; we prepare the record, protect liberty and challenge defective proceedings.
Inquiry response
We assess the notice, gather and organise documents, prepare written explanations and attend with you. The aim is to give the inquiry officer a complete, consistent account that can support closure.
Asset statements
We prepare statements of assets from documents, reconcile them with tax returns and build the income-versus-acquisition schedule that a section 27 defence depends on.
Bail and protection
We apply for anticipatory and regular bail, oppose departure bans and challenge freezing and attachment orders where they go further than the law allows.
Quashing and writs
Where proceedings are outside the ACC's jurisdiction, lack required approvals or disclose no offence, we bring writ petitions or section 561A applications in the High Court Division.
Trial defence
We argue discharge at charge framing, cross-examine official and bank witnesses on the documents, and present defence evidence on lawful income and proper decision-making.
Corporate exposure
For companies named in procurement or bank fraud matters, we run internal reviews, advise on employee cooperation and align the criminal, civil and contractual positions.
See all of our work on our practices page, or the Chattogram office overview.
Checklist for decision-makers
If you, a family member, a director or an employee has received an ACC notice in Chattogram, work through this list.
- Identify exactly what the notice is: inquiry, statement of assets, investigation summons or court process.
- Note every date and deadline, and do not let one pass without a response or a request for time.
- Collect tax returns, bank records, title documents and income evidence before any appearance.
- Check whether the allegation falls within the ACC's schedule under the law currently in force.
- Do not transfer or move assets without advice.
- Consider whether anticipatory bail is needed and who would need to appear.
- Map parallel tax, customs, banking and departmental issues and keep one consistent account.
- If you live abroad, plan travel to Bangladesh with the departure ban risk in mind.
An anti-corruption case lawyer in Chittagong can usually tell, after reviewing the notice and the core documents, which of these issues is urgent. To speak with us, use our contact page, email info@trw.co or call +880 1779 127165. Our office is at Room 4022, Annex 2, District and Sessions Judge Court Building, Court Hill (Porir Pahar), Kotwali, Chattogram 4000.
Frequently asked questions
01I have received an ACC notice to appear. Am I accused?
Not necessarily. ACC officers send notices to witnesses and to people whose conduct is being examined, and the notice does not always say which you are. During an inquiry no case has been filed yet. Even so, anything you say or submit enters the record that decides whether a case is filed. Take advice before attending, find out the nature of the inquiry if possible, bring organised documents and keep copies. A prepared appearance is very different from an unprepared one.
02What is a statement of assets order and what if I ignore it?
Under section 26 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004, the Commission can order a person to submit a statement of their assets and liabilities. Failing to submit it, or submitting a false or incomplete one, is a separate offence, even if the person's wealth is entirely lawful. The statement should be prepared from documents, include assets held in other names where required, and be reconciled with income tax returns. Ignoring the order or filing it hastily are both serious mistakes.
03Which court in Chattogram hears ACC cases?
Offences within the ACC's schedule are tried by Special Judges appointed under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1958. In Chattogram these courts sit in the court complex, and include the Chattogram Divisional Special Judge's Court. Bail applications after cognisance are usually argued there first, while anticipatory bail, quashing applications, writs and appeals against conviction go to the High Court Division in Dhaka.
04Can I get anticipatory bail in an ACC case?
Anticipatory bail is sought from the High Court Division once a case has been filed and arrest is a real risk. The applicant must usually appear in person, and the ACC's lawyers are commonly heard and may oppose. Bail is discretionary and depends on the allegation, the evidence, the applicant's conduct and the risk of absconding or interfering with witnesses. The ACC sometimes challenges bail orders before the Appellate Division, so the application should be prepared thoroughly.
05Does the ACC need government approval to prosecute a public servant?
The position has changed several times. A provision requiring compliance with section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before cases against public servants was added in 2013 and later challenged. A December 2025 ordinance repealed it, but that ordinance lapsed when parliament did not ratify it, and a new draft is in preparation. Whether approval is needed in a given case should be checked against the law in force at the relevant dates.
06Can the ACC freeze my bank accounts or stop me leaving Bangladesh?
During an investigation the ACC can apply to the court for orders freezing accounts, attaching property and preventing a person from leaving the country. These orders are made on the ACC's application, often without the accused being heard first. They can be challenged, for example by showing that the frozen assets are unrelated to the allegation or that the order is disproportionate. People living abroad should take advice before travelling to Bangladesh if they know of an ACC matter.
07How long does an ACC case take in Chattogram?
There is no reliable standard timeline. Some inquiries are closed within months; some cases take many years from filing to verdict. In one Chattogram case decided in October 2026, the case had been filed in 2009. Delay is not always a disadvantage to the defence, but it does mean asset freezes, travel restrictions and reputational damage can last a long time, which makes early challenges to defective proceedings worthwhile.
Sources and official materials
- Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004 — Record of the ACC Act 2004 (UNEP LEAP)
- Anti-Corruption Commission, Bangladesh — ACC official website, complaints and offices
- Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 — Bail, quashing and trial procedure
- Supreme Court of Bangladesh — High Court Division bail, quashing and appeals
- Chattogram District Judiciary — Chattogram courts and cause lists
- ACC working on draft law rolling back key reforms — The Daily Star on the lapsed 2025 ordinance and 2026 draft
General information only, current as at 2 November 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an advocate–client relationship. It reflects the law of Bangladesh unless stated otherwise, and the law, court practice and official fees change frequently. Check current official sources and take advice on the facts of your matter.
