Transparency International Bangladesh
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is the Bangladeshi branch of the Berlin-based Transparency International, a civil society organisation dedicated to fighting against corruption.
History
TIB started its activities in 1997, under found ...
.
Early life
Iftekharuzzaman completed high school in 1968 under the
Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Jessore
The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Jashore is an autonomous organization in Jashore, Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and depend ...
. did his undergraduate studies in economics from the
University of Dhaka
The University of Dhaka (), also known as Dhaka University (DU), is a public university, public research university located in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Established in 1921, it is the oldest active university in the country.
The University of Dhaka w ...
. He completed his graduate studies in economics from the
Wrocław University of Economics
The Wroclaw University of Economics and Business ''(Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wrocławiu)'' is one of ten public universities located in Wrocław, Poland. Originally established in 1947 as a private business school (then named ''Wyższa Szkoła H ...
. He earned his PhD from the
SGH Warsaw School of Economics
SGH Warsaw School of Economics (, ''SGH'' His did his post doc research from the University of Tokyo in international relations from 1988 to 1989.
Career
Iftekharuzzaman was a researcher and later research director at
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies
Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) is a state owned autonomous national research institute and think tank working as a statutory institute that carries out research on security and strategic issues in Bangladesh ...
from 1982 to 1995. From 1995 to 1999, Iftekharuzzaman was the executive director of the Regional Centre For Strategic Studies in Sri Lanka.
From 1991 to 2004, Iftekharuzzaman was the executive director of Bangladesh Freedom Foundation. After leaving Bangladesh Freedom Foundation, he joined as the executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh in September 2004.
In October 2007, Iftekharuzzaman defended Transparence International Bangladesh report on corruption in non governmental organizations after it was attacked by Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh.
Iftekharuzzaman was elected to the international board of directors of Transparency International in 2008, 2012, and 2015. In January 2008, he was a panelist in a conference, '' BBC Bangladesh Sanglap'', organized by BBC World Service Trust and BBC Bangla Service.
Iftekharuzzaman called the cancellation of World Bank loan for
Padma Bridge
The Padma Multipurpose Bridge, commonly known as the Padma Bridge, is a Double-decked bridge, two-level road-rail bridge across the Padma River, the main distributary of the Ganges in Bangladesh.
It connects Louhajang Upazila of Munshiganj Dist ...
an ''"acid test"'' for the government due to the
Padma Bridge graft scandal
The Padma Bridge graft scandal was a political scandal in Bangladesh during 2016 and 2017, involving allegations of bribery linked to the construction of the Padma Bridge, the country's longest road-rail bridge spanning across the Padma River. ...
in 2012. In 2014, he warned Bangladesh was on the way to becoming a
kleptocracy
Kleptocracy (from Greek , "thief", or , "I steal", and from , "power, rule"), also referred to as thievocracy, is a government whose corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) use political power to expropriate the wealth of the people and land the ...
.
In May 2015, Iftekharuzzaman was awarded the Global Partnership Forum for Social Accountability Award by the World Bank. In 2019, he called for policy reforms due to the abuse of power by VIPs. He called the murder of Nusrat Jahan Rafi in 2019 an ''"acid test"'' for the government.
Iftekharuzzaman is a trustee of Bangladesh Freedom Foundation and
Bishwo Shahitto Kendro
Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK) (, meaning 'World-Literature Centre'), is a non-profit institution in Bangladesh to promote reading habits, enlightenment and progressive ideas among students and general public. Popularly known as just Bhrammaman L ...
. He is a member of the International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission. He is a member of the Citizen's Platform for SDGs, Bangladesh. He wrote ''Nuclear Non-Proliferation in India and Pakistan: South Asian, Perspectives and South Asian Security, Primacy of Internal Dimension''. He has criticized the government for failure to prevent large scale money laundering. In 2020, he criticized a provision of the budget that allowed black money (untaxed) to be legalized.
According to Transparency International Bangladesh and Iftekharuzzaman, the Anti Corruption Commission was acting under the influence of the Awami League and not as an independent body. He called for greater transparency in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh
The COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Bangladesh in March 2020. The firs ...