The offenders should be punished without wasting any time and awareness should be created among all concerned against corruption, he said, adding, "Unless there is a national consensus brought about by political will, anti-corruption measures can not succeed."

He was speaking as the guest of honour on 'Role of the Anti-Corruption Commission in Shaping the Future of Bangladesh' at the January monthly luncheon meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham) at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel.

The ACC chairman, however, mentioned that the commission is now handicapped due to lack of required rules to accord sanctions for prosecution of cases, lack of recruitment rules and rules regarding staff organogram of the body.

To set examples of punitive measures in case of corruption, the commission decided to file charge sheets for prosecution in 42 corruption cases and authorised inquiry officers in seven cases to lodge formal information to the police against several persons involved in corruption, Justice Sultan said.

The ACC is an independent and neutral body with power to investigate and launch prosecution with regard to offences of financial corruption and misconduct against any person, whether he is a minister or a member of the parliament or a government functionary, he said.

"The commission has been given this power under the ACC law. No government in the sub-continent has parted with this power of investigation and prosecution for crimes relating to bribery and misconduct by government leader and functionaries," the ACC chairman said.

Referring to the commission's work to prevent corruption in the port and customs house in Chittagong and in land ports on the borders with India, he said illegal entry of trucks through the Benapole land port has been stopped.

There is no longer any rampant corruption in Chittagong port and the situation will improve further with the completion of some ongoing projects to modernise the port, the ACC chairman observed.

In addition to 2,500 cases pending before its formation, the ACC has received 2,000 corruption cases, he said.

Apart from the ranking by the Transparency International, the general perception is that widespread corruption prevails in Bangladesh, said AmCham President Andrew L Fawthrop.

Now the important thing is to take drastic actions against corruption, and push the country towards higher growth, for example, a sustainable GDP growth rate at seven to eight percent for the next several years, he said.

Bangladesh's moving in this direction will help to diminish the negative perception about the country, accelerate the interest of the local as well as foreign investors, and help alleviate poverty, Andrew felt.

Judith A Chamas, charge d' affaires of US embassy in Dhaka and Trevor MacDonald, general manager of Dhaka Sheraton and US investors here were also present at the meeting.