DHAKA: Bangladesh’s army-backed interim authority has asked all government employees to submit statements of their wealth by the end of this year as part of an anti-corruption campaign.

An official notification this week related to the policy said all state employees must to provide wealth statements at the time of appointment and every five years thereafter, to see if their known income matches their assets.

They will also have to clearly describe increases and decreases of all types of property in specified formats in the statements, the notification said.

“The government has taken the decision aiming to enhance its ongoing anti-corruption drive as well as ensure accountability and efficiency in the government service,” an official said.

According to a code of conduct for civil servants framed in 1979, government employees were already supposed to submit statements detailing their property and assets every five years. But the guidelines have been widely ignored.

The interim authority headed by former central bank governor Fakhruddin Ahmed launched its anti-corruption drive after taking charge in January, and imposed an indefinite state of emergency that banned political activity and protests.

So far, more than 170 key political figures, including former prime ministers Sheikh Hasina and Begum Khaleda Zia, and dozens of their ministers and family members, have been detained for alleged corruption and abuse of power.—Reuters