The newly appointed chairman and two commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) are set to assume office today, a day after the government announced their appointments.

Retired Appellate Division Justice AKM Asaduzzaman has been appointed ACC chairman, while former secretary Jahangir Alam Khan and former National Board of Revenue (NBR) tax commissioner Md Sazzad Hossain Bhuiyan as commissioners.

The appointments come after the anti-graft watchdog remained without a commission for 166 days, leaving its top decision-making body vacant.

"We will take charge of the commission today," Sazzad Hossain told The Daily Star.

According to an ACC source, the new chairman and commissioners will submit their joining letters to the Cabinet Division before visiting the ACC headquarters in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, to begin official activities and meet senior officials.

A Cabinet Division notification said the three were appointed under Section 6(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004. Justice Asaduzzaman was subsequently appointed chairman under Section 5(1) of the law.

They will serve five-year terms from the date they assume office.

The ACC chairman will enjoy the rank, salary, allowances and other benefits equivalent to those of an Appellate Division judge, while the two commissioners will receive benefits equivalent to those of High Court Division judges.

The previous commission stepped down on March 3, when then chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen and commissioners Mia Mohammad Ali Akbar Azizi and retired Brig Gen Hafiz Ahsan Farid resigned.

The absence of a commission for more than five months complicated key decision-making, including approving fresh inquiries, filing cases, approving charge sheets, freezing assets and imposing travel bans.

The new commission is expected to tackle a substantial backlog of complaints, inquiries and investigations accumulated during the vacancy.

The government formed a five-member search committee on June 22 to recommend candidates for the posts. Headed by Appellate Division Justice Md Rezaul Haque, the committee proposed the three names, which were subsequently approved by the government.

Justice Asaduzzaman previously served in both the High Court Division and the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Jahangir Alam Khan, a former administration cadre officer, held several key positions in government.

Sazzad Hossain previously served in the NBR's tax wing and later chaired the Financial Reporting Council.