Political Risk:
Very High
Score:
26/100
Defence and Security Policy and Policy Transparency
Q1
0/100
Is there formal provision for effective and independent legislative scrutiny of defence policy?
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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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Parliament does not debate or review defence policy [1]; no further evidence was found on this subject.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, given that there is no evidence to suggest that risk assessments are conducted [1].
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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
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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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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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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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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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
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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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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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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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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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, given that there is no evidence that such policing function exists within the military.
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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
Q21
0/100
Are the policies, administration, and budgets of the intelligence services subject to effective and independent oversight?
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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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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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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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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
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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Bangladesh signed the Arms Trade Treaty in 2013 [1], however, it is yet to ratify it [2].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’ as Bangladesh has only signed, and not ratified, the ATT [1].
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This indicator is marked ‘Not Applicable’, as Bangladesh does not export arms [1].
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Lobbying in Defence
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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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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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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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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