Political Risk:

Very High

Score:

26/100

Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency

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Q1 0/100

Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?

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Formal rights Score: 0 / 100
Parliament has no formal jurisdiction to scrutinise defence policy matters; this is a function of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) [1]. There is no…
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Effectiveness Score: 0 / 100
Parliament does not debate or review defence policy [1]; no further evidence was found on this subject.
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Independent legislature scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
It is evident from several analyses that both civil and military administrations have been operating on a collaborative model [1]. The government has given…
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Q2 6/100

Does the country have an identifiable and effective parliamentary defence and security committee (or similar such organisations) to exercise oversight?

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Formal rights Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. Bangladesh has a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Defence. However, the terms of reference…
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Expertise Score: 25 / 100
The committee chair is a retired general who once served as Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division under the Prime Minister (PM).…
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Responsive policymaking Score: 0 / 100
The media reported that, in 2009, the Bangladesh Army sent a request to the MoD stressing the need to prepare a defence policy [1].…
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Short-term oversight Score: 0 / 100
There are no official or media reports suggesting that the PSCMoD has ever exercised any short-term oversight over defence policy [1].
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Long-term oversight Score: 0 / 100
There are no official or media reports indicating that the PSCMoD has ever conducted or commissioned a long-term investigation [1].
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Institutional outcomes Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. Section D-15 of the MoD performs all activities relating to the PSCMoD [1]. Due to…
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Q3 6/100

Is the country’s national defence policy or national security strategy debated and publicly available?

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Scope of involvement Score: 0 / 100
Defence policy has not been debated at all in the last year. However, in September 2019, the PSCMoD endorsed a proposal by the Bangladesh…
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Scope of debate Score: 25 / 100
Limited public debate on issues of defence takes place on an irregular basis following the passage of the annual budget by Parliament in June…
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Public consultations Score: 0 / 100
In the case of rules or regulations, public consultations are a statutory requirement under the Rules of Business of 1996 [1]. However, there is…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
The most recent defence policy of 2018 is not available on the websites of the Ministry of Defence or the Bangladesh Military [1,2].
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Q4 8/100

Do defence and security institutions have a policy, or evidence, of openness towards civil society organisations (CSOs) when dealing with issues of corruption?

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Policy of openness Score: 25 / 100
Defence and security agencies traditionally maintain a safe distance from CSOs, whom they consider to be ‘very critical’ of their institutions. However, on several…
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CSO protections Score: 0 / 100
There is no formal policy on openness towards CSOs. CSOs in Bangladesh now operate on the basis of a mutually agreed formula: ‘see no…
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Practice of openness Score: 0 / 100
The military occasionally engages with selected think tanks and CSOs on various national development issues, but corruption is not on the agenda [1].
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Q5 75/100

Has the country signed up to the following international anti-corruption instruments: UNCAC and the OECD Convention?

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Signatory and Ratification status Score: 100 / 100
Bangladesh acceded to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on February 27, 2007, and deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Nations…
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Compliance Score: 50 / 100
As of now, the government of Bangladesh has not undertaken any official analysis regarding its compliance with UNCAC instruments. However, a study conducted by…
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Q6 25/100

Is there evidence of regular, active public debate on issues of defence? If yes, does the government participate in this debate?

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Public debate Score: 25 / 100
Public debate on defence issues is limited and irregular. Civil administration officials and serving military officers refrain from joining such debate. However, retired military…
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Government engagement in public discourse Score: 25 / 100
In 2020, the Bangladesh military came under the media spotlight and became the centre of social media discourse for all the wrong reasons. The…
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Q7 0/100

Does the country have an openly stated and effectively implemented anti-corruption policy for the defence sector?

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Anti-corruption policy Score: 0 / 100
Bangladesh does not have an openly stated anti-corruption policy that also applies to the defence sector. No clear evidence could be found on this…
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Effective implementation Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as Bangladesh does not have an openly stated anti-corruption policy that also applies to the defence sector.
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Q8 42/100

Are there independent, well-resourced, and effective institutions within defence and security tasked with building integrity and countering corruption?

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Mandate and resources Score: 75 / 100
Both the Ministries of Defence [1] and Home Affairs [2] have ethics committees and NIS Focal Points, consisting of regular first-class officials and funded…
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Independence Score: 25 / 100
The Ministry of Defence has its own ethics committee and tasks are performed under the National Integrity Strategy [1]. The ethics committee reports back…
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Effectiveness Score: 25 / 100
Committee members may be cognisant of specific corruption risks, however, they are unable to address risks adequately [1] or blow the whistle [2].
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Q9 NS/100

Does the public trust the institutions of defence and security to tackle the issue of bribery and corruption in their establishments?

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Score: NS / 100
This indicator is not assigned a score in the GDI. A 2020 Transparency International report found that some 4% of respondents surveyed in Bangladesh…
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Q10 0/100

Are there regular assessments of the areas of greatest corruption risk for ministry and armed forces personnel, and are the findings used as inputs to the anti-corruption policy?

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Risk assessments Score: 0 / 100
There is no public information available suggesting that Bangladesh conducts regular assessments of corruption risks for defence personnel, nor has the Ministry of Defence…
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Regularity Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, given that there is no evidence to suggest that risk assessments are conducted [1].
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Inputs to anti-corruption policy Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, given that there is no evidence to suggest that risk assessments are conducted [1].
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Defence Budgets

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Q11 42/100

Does the country have a process for acquisition planning that involves clear oversight, and is it publicly available?

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Acquisition planning process Score: 75 / 100
Bangladesh has a clear process for the entire acquisition planning cycle [1]. The flowchart for the acquisition system is guided by the Armed Forces…
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Transparency Score: 50 / 100
On its website, the AFD has provided a flowchart with 14 stages, detailing the names of the unit/desks/agencies responsible for implementing the procurement action…
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External oversight Score: 0 / 100
There is an internal oversight mechanism in the form of financial advice, which is provided by the Directorate General Defence Purchase (DGDP) and the…
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Q12 88/100

Is the defence budget transparent, showing key items of expenditure? And it is provided to the legislature in a timely fashion?

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Comprehensiveness Score: 75 / 100
Bangladesh currently has a system in place for disclosing major information on defence expenditure across economic groups [1]. This expenditure includes 23 recurrent items,…
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Timeliness Score: 100 / 100
The annual budget is prepared by the Ministry of Finance and presented to Parliament by the end of March for approval by June 30…
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Q13 13/100

Is there a legislative committee (or other appropriate body) responsible for defence budget scrutiny and analysis in an effective way?

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Formal rights Score: 25 / 100
Although Bangladesh has a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Defence, the terms of reference for this committee are not publicly available. There are…
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Influence on decision-making Score: 0 / 100
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Ministry of Defence has no influence on the decision-making for defence expenditure [1].
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Q14 75/100

Is the approved defence budget made publicly available? In practice, can citizens, civil society, and the media obtain detailed information on the defence budget?

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Proactive publication Score: 75 / 100
The approved defence budget with a nearly complete breakdown is available on the website of the Ministry of Finance [1]. Some consolidated information is…
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Comprehensiveness Score: 75 / 100
The approved defence budget with a nearly complete breakdown is available on the website of the Ministry of Finance [1]. Some consolidated information is…
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Response to information requests Score: 75 / 100
According to the 2019 Annual Report of the Information Commission (IC), the Ministry of Defence received a total of 121 applications for information in…
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Q15 50/100

Are sources of defence income other than from central government allocation (from equipment sales or property disposal, for example) published and scrutinised?

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Transparency Score: 100 / 100
Bangladesh is one of the top contributors of troops to UN peacekeeping missions [1] and earns a substantial income from these operations [2]. In…
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Institutional scrutiny Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator, as no publicly available data could be found through research to establish whether any scrutiny…
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Public scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
There is no evidence of public scrutiny conducted by CSOs or the media of external income generated by Bangladesh’s military.
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Q16 25/100

Is there an effective internal audit process for defence ministry expenditure (that is, for example, transparent, conducted by appropriately skilled individuals, and subject to parliamentary oversight)?

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Activity Score: 50 / 100
Bangladesh has a Defence Audit Directorate (DAD), which is tasked with overseeing receipts and public spending in order to ascertain whether defence expenditures have…
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Enabling oversight Score: 50 / 100
There are no official or media reports suggesting that the DAD’s report has ever been discussed at the meetings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee…
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External scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
The Ministry of Defence is not known to have shared the audit report with the Anti-Corruption Commission, nor there is any information in this…
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Institutional outcomes Score: 0 / 100
The Ministry of Defence has an audit department mandated to oversee audit findings. However, there is no public or official information suggesting that it…
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Q17 50/100

Is there effective and transparent external auditing of military defence expenditure?

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Activity Score: 75 / 100
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG) is the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) of Bangladesh. As mandated by the Constitution [1], the…
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Independence Score: 75 / 100
As mandated by the Constitution [1], the CAG holds absolute operational independence, is not subject to the influence or control of any other authority…
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Transparency Score: 50 / 100
According to the Constitution and Rule 233 of the Rules of Procedure of Parliament, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) examines the reports submitted to…
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Institutional outcomes Score: 0 / 100
The increasing trend in audit objections concerning the Ministry of Defence clearly shows that the Ministry of Defence has failed to address audit findings…
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Nexus of Defence and National Assets

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Q18 5/100

Is there evidence that the country’s defence institutions have controlling or financial interests in businesses associated with the country’s natural resource exploitation and, if so, are these interests publicly stated and subject to scrutiny?

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Legal framework Score: 0 / 100
The assessor could not, through research, identify any legal restrictions on the Bangladesh Army with regard to its involvement in business interests associated with…
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Defence institutions: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: 25 / 100
The Army’s involvement in businesses relating to the country’s natural resource exploitation appears to be considered legal. Recently, the government approved the leasing of…
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Individual defence personnel: Financial or controlling interests in practice Score: 0 / 100
A number of individual defence personnel have formed private companies to exploit land resources in the name of housing development in urban areas [1].…
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Transparency Score: 0 / 100
Sena Kalyan Sangstha (SKS) (Army Welfare Trust) was formed in 1998 to promote the welfare of serving and ex-army personnel [1]. It has more…
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Scrutiny Score: 0 / 100
There is no evidence to suggest that these interests are subject to any form of scrutiny; no clear information on this sujbect could be…
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Organised Crime

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Q19 0/100

Is there evidence, for example through media investigations or prosecution reports, of a penetration of organised crime into the defence and security sector? If no, is there evidence that the government is alert and prepared for this risk?

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Penetration of organised crime Score: 0 / 100
There is strong likelihood of penetration by organised crime into the defence and security sector. It is alleged that Bangladesh’s government has been lavishing…
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Government response Score: 0 / 100
There is no evidence that the government is actively trying to address the issue of organised crime. More often than not, it only pays…
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Q20 0/100

Is there policing to investigate corruption and organised crime within the defence services and is there evidence of the effectiveness of this policing?

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Existence of policing function Score: 0 / 100
No policing function is exercised over the defence services to investigate corruption or organised crime. The recent Al Jazeera documentary provides a glaring example…
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Independence Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, given that there is no evidence that such policing function exists within the military.
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Effectiveness Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, given that there is no evidence that such policing function exists within the military.
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Control of Intelligence Services

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Q21 0/100

Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?

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Independence Score: 0 / 100
The Intelligence Directorate of the Armed Forces Division has three sections: military and special operations, internal and external affairs and media [1]. It has…
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Effectiveness Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as there is no evidence of an oversight mechanism.
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Q22 17/100

Are senior positions within the intelligence services filled on the basis of objective selection criteria, and are appointees subject to investigation of their suitability and prior conduct?

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Objective selection criteria Score: 25 / 100
The actual official criteria are not publicly available. However, professional skills, unwavering faith in Liberation War spirit, leadership, discipline, honesty and national-level contributions [1]…
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Selection bias Score: 25 / 100
Impartiality may be an issue, for example, because of blessings from the Prime Minister or affiliation with the ruling party. The incumbent DGFI Chief…
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Vetting process Score: 0 / 100
There are no external parties involved in the vetting process [1]. Candidates’ profiles are verified through an internal system and information about the internal…
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Export Controls

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Q23 50/100

Does the government have a well-scrutinised process for arms export decisions that aligns with Articles 7.1.iv, 11.5, and 15.6 of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)?

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Signatory and Ratification Score: 50 / 100
Bangladesh signed the Arms Trade Treaty in 2013 [1], however, it is yet to ratify it [2].
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Compliance Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as Bangladesh has only signed, and not ratified, the ATT [1].
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Parliamentary scrutiny Score: NA / 100
This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as Bangladesh does not export arms [1].
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Lobbying in Defence

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Q76 17/100

Does the country regulate lobbying of defence institutions?

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Legal framework Score: 50 / 100
The Bangladesh military has an old rule that regulates the defence procurement process. ‘Defence Purchase 35’, commonly known as ‘DP-35’, of 1961 is still…
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Disclosure: Public officials Score: 0 / 100
Public officials in defence institutions are not required to publish records of lobbying meetings or to publish any conflict of interest risks that have…
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Lobbyist registration system Score: 0 / 100
Bangladesh does not have a registration system for lobbyists [1]. Public officials in defence institutions are not required to publish records of lobbying meetings…
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Oversight & enforcement Score: NEI / 100
There is not enough information to score this indicator. No publicly available data was found, through research, to establish the existence of an oversight…
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