As pledged by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, the assets belonging to advisers and government officials have not yet been disclosed even though most of them submitted the accounts of their wealth months ago.
Even after a year of issuing a guideline on disclosure of income and assets of the advisers and government officials, none has so far been made public, leading many to believe that it is not going to happen during the tenure of this government which is most likely to end in February next year.
According to the findings of TIMES of Bangladesh, the main reasons behind the non-disclosure of the assets of government officials are lack of actual initiative, procedural errors, lack of legal obligation, and possession of wealth beyond known sources of income.
On 22 September last year, the interim government issued a notification with respect to submission of wealth statements by the country’s approximately 14.5 lakh government officials to prevent corruption and ensure transparency. The last date for submitting the accounts was set for 15 February after extending the deadlines several times. Most officials of government departments submitted accounts of their wealth to the relevant ministries, but the verification of those statements has not started even in the last seven months. The actual number of officials who submitted statements could not be known.
In addition, the interim government issued a policy on 1 October last year for the disclosure of income and asset statements of government advisers or equivalent. In that policy, the advisers are asked to submit their asset statements to the chief adviser through the Cabinet Division within 15 days of the last date for submitting income tax returns every year. The advisers submitted the statements, which are still the Cabinet Division.
Owing to the inaction on part of the government, many who were optimistic about the initiative to disclose the assets of government officials after the interim government took office are now disappointed.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, “The government’s initiative was positive, but the lack of implementation is disappointing.”
Although the Government Service Act-2018 and the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules of 1979 have provisions for the submission of asset statements by employees, people’s access to them is very limited. Therefore, when the issue of corruption by bureaucrats of the previous Awami League government came to the limelight, a lawyer, on 2 July 2024, filed a writ petition with the High Court, which ordered the implementation of the rules regarding the submission and disclosure of asset statements.
Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government a month later, Muhammad Yunus took over as the head of the interim government.
“The government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against corruption. All advisers will promptly disclose their assets. This will also be made mandatory for all government officials. In this regard, an ordinance will be promulgated to appoint an ombudsman in accordance with Article 77 of the Constitution,” the Nobel laureate said in a speech on 25 August.
After that, a policy on the disclosure of assets by advisers and a notification for officials were issued.
Information on submission of asset statements by advisers
According to the Cabinet Division, the Yunus-led advisory council comprises 22 advisers, who enjoy the status of ministers, three more advisers also with the status of ministers and seven special assistants with the status of state minister.
ASM Ibnul Hasan Even, a deputy secretary of the Cabinet Division, told TIMES of Bangladesh, “All the advisers have submitted their wealth statements, but they have not yet been sent to the chief adviser as no instructions were given in this regard.”
Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter told TIMES of Bangladesh, “I have submitted my wealth statement to the Cabinet Division in due time.”
On 15 August, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, adviser to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives, told a foreign media outlet, “I informed the Cabinet Division that I had no income as I was a student before becoming an adviser. I will submit my income tax return for the current year immediately after the last date for submitting the income tax return”.
“Other advisers have submitted their accounts of income and asset for the previous year,” he said.
State of affairs for the government officials
According to the statistics published by the Ministry of Public Administration on 30 June 2025, the current number of government employees (officials and employees) stands at 14,50,891.
Mohammad Mohidur Rahman Molla, deputy director (administration) of the Bangladesh Rural Development Board under the Ministry of Rural Development and Cooperatives, informed that 552 out of 553 officials of the organisation have submitted their accounts.
Ahsan Kabir, additional registrar of the Cooperatives Department, said, “Although there are close to 200 official posts, some are vacant. More than 180 of them have submitted their asset accounts.”
According to the Ministry of Public Administration, which is responsible for dealing with the wealth statements of the government officials, 6,525 out of its 6,548 officials have submitted their accounts.
Mokhles Ur Rahman, who was senior secretary of the Public Administration Ministry at the time of making the comments, said, “After the notification, everyone will have to submit their accounts by 31 December every year. Then the ministry will not have to do anything else. I hope that the ministries and departments concerned will scrutinise and sort them out.”
Why is the positive step not being implemented?
TIMES findings show that most government officials are reluctant to disclose their income or assets. Many do not want people to know about their wealth earned beyond known sources of income. Even though the government has issued a notification, many do not submit the statements as there is no legal obligation. Like before, there seems to be no urge this time round to implement the government initiative.
TIB’s Iftekharuzzaman said government officials do not want to submit the wealth statements because of possessing illegal assets.
“Hiding something means there is discrepancy,” he said.
Former secretary and public administration expert Habibul Majumder said, “Although accounts of wealth were taken every five years earlier, due to the absence of legal obligation, effective actions were not taken against those who acquired illegal assets after proper verification. This time too, we are seeing the same situation as before. No one wants to give an account if they get away with corruption.”
Some experts are also saying that there are no adequate manpower or proper process currently in place to properly and quickly verify about 15 lakh wealth statements.
Md Mohiuddin, recently retired secretary of the Ministry of Social Welfare and currently a member of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission, said, “It is difficult to perfect a system if it is suddenly introduced. Nothing is impossible if the system is already in place.”
TIMES has reached out to the press wing of the Chief Adviser’s Office and Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid for comments.
