The Anti-Corruption Commission is grappling with a growing backlog of cases as 8,330 corruption cases remain pending with various courts across the country.
The backlog has been increasing every year, with around 2,000 additional cases piling up at courts over the past five years due to a poor disposal rate.
Besides, the disposal rate has also been declining gradually in recent years, also causing the backlog to keep rising.
Experts, including lawyers, said that the number of pending cases is going up mainly due to the non-appearance of witnesses and delays in trial proceedings caused by graft suspects through various means, including filing writ petitions against ongoing trials.
According to the latest ACC data, a total of 8,330 graft cases were pending across the country from 2004, when the ACC was established, till February this year -- with lower courts, the High Court and the Appellate Division.
In the backlog, 335 graft cases filed two decades ago -- during the now-defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption -- are also pending with various courts while trial proceedings of 484 cases have been kept stopped following stay orders by the apex court.
The number of pending cases was 8,306 in December 2025, compared with 7,689 in December 2024, 7,278 in December 2023, 6,667 in 2022 and 6,373 in 2021.
Although special judge courts exist to deal with corruption cases, judges are often delaying graft cases as they simultaneously handle cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act and narcotics laws.
According to experts, judges tend to prioritise NI Act and narcotics cases as these are comparatively easier to dispose of within shorter time periods and help show better performances.
They also alleged that despite the ACC being an independent body, successive governments appoint lawyers based on political loyalty rather than merit.
Due to such politically influenced appointments, many lawyers lack accountability and often act in line with government interests instead of protecting the commission’s position, they added.
Former ACC director general (legal) Moyeedul Islam told New Age that the backlog of graft cases was growing as there was no specialised court dedicated solely to corruption cases.
He said that although special judge courts exist, judges conduct trials of various types of cases and there is little accountability regarding the completion of ACC cases.
To ensure accountability, the High Court Division in 2016 directed judges of special courts to submit monthly reports on the number of disposed graft cases, but the directive is largely being ignored, he added.
He also stressed the need for exclusive courts for ACC cases, establishing a permanent prosecution unit with skilled lawyers and ensuring supervision by the High Court.
An analysis of ACC data also shows that the disposal rate of cases is now around 7 per cent, compared with about 10 per cent five years ago.
The disposal rate was 7.63 per cent in 2025, 8.65 per cent in 2024, 10.17 per cent in 2023 and 10.08 per cent in 2022.
Politicians, businesspeople, former lawmakers, and ministers, as well as serving and former government officials, make up the majority accused in these cases, which involve charges such as bribery, corruption, embezzlement of public funds and, money laundering.
Allegations also suggest that many accused are influential socially, politically and financially, and they attempt to influence trial proceedings in various ways, which is another reason for the growing backlog.
If the trial of a graft case is not completed on time, it leads to prolonged justice delays, increases the backlog of cases, and weakens public confidence in the anti-graft institutions, said experts.
ACC public prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam told New Age, ‘We are working our level best to complete the trial in every case on time, but proceedings in some cases are delayed due to the non-appearance of witnesses.’
He, however, claimed that the completion rate in ACC cases had neither decreased nor increased significantly.
The Anti-Corruption Commission was established in 2004 in accordance with the Anti-Corruption Commission Act after abolishing the Bureau of Anti-Corruption.
