Dechen Dolkar
The members of the National Council recommended establishing a separate bench for corruption cases in dzongkhags or regions based on caseloads, considering the increasing number and complexity of corruption cases.
The chairperson of the Good Governance Committee (GGC), Sonam Tobgyel, presented the committee’s review of the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) Annual Report 2023-24 to the House yesterday.
During the presentation, Sonam Tobgyel reported that the ACC received 322 corruption cases in 2023-24, compared to 342 cases in 2022-23, indicating a slight decline. Of these, 33 cases qualified for investigation, while the remaining were categorised for action, sensitisation, or information enrichment.
Corruption investigations primarily involved abuse of function (25.2 percent), bribery (18.7 percent), and embezzlement (15.6 percent).
The highest number of corruption reports was related to gewog administrations, followed by ministries and the private sector.
Regionally, Thimphu, Chukha, and Paro recorded the highest number of corruption cases.
Sonam Tobgyel said that frequent transfers of drangpons (judges) and changes in prosecutors hindered the timely processing of cases, as new officials had to review cases from the beginning.
Council member from Paro Ugyen Tshering said that the previous committee had made a similar recommendation, but the response indicated that a separate bench had already been established
Sonam Tobgyel said that while the initiative was implemented in a few dzongkhags, it was discontinued due to a shortage of human resources and budget constraints.
He also outlined key challenges identified by the committee, including gaps in accountability and oversight mechanisms, resource constraints faced by law enforcement agencies, and difficulties in addressing corruption risks in revenue mobilisation.
To address these challenges, the committee recommended enhancing resources for law enforcement agencies, integrating anti-corruption strategies into the National Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, and the need for greater public and civil society engagement to strengthen transparency and accountability.
The House will adopt the report, including the final recommendations on December 5, 2024.
In the period of the reporting year, a total of 66 cases were opened for investigation, including 28 spill-over cases from the previous year. Out of this, 45 cases were completed, 26 cases were forwarded to OAG for prosecution, 12 cases were referred to relevant agencies for administrative actions, six cases were closed with no further action, and one case is yet to be decided.
Embezzlement accounted for the highest number of charges, with 345 counts, followed by 108 counts related to passive bribery of public servants.
Financial restitution during the reporting period amounted to Nu 87.36 million.
Additionally, the ACC conducted 23 search and seizure operations and disposed of 115 seized properties, including Nu 2.19 million in cash.
As of June 2024, 32 cases were under review by the OAG, with the majority related to embezzlement. Twenty-seven cases are currently sub judice, while 21 cases received judgments from various courts during the reporting period.