Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) reported that a total of nearly BDT 126.33 billion in bribes was exchanged across various public service sectors during the interim government’s tenure. The organisation’s survey revealed a high prevalence of corruption in passport services, the road transport authority, law enforcement agencies, land administration, and judicial services.
The findings were presented on Thursday morning at a press conference held at TIB’s office in Dhanmondi, Dhaka, through a report on corruption in service sectors. The survey analysed data covering the period from November 2024 to October 2025.
According to TIB, 1,149 survey locations were selected through a two-stage random sampling process using the sampling framework of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). The survey examined conditions in 18 specific service sectors across both rural and urban areas of all eight divisions of the country.
The survey results show that, as in 2023, passport services remained the sector where the highest proportion of people experienced bribery and corruption in 2025. The corruption rate in this sector stood at 76.6 percent. It was followed by services provided by the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA), where the corruption rate was 63.5 percent. Law enforcement agencies, agriculture-related services, land administration, and judicial services ranked next.
These sectors recorded the highest average bribe payments per household, the report also noted. But overall, the average amount of bribes paid per household declined by nearly 10 percent compared with 2023, falling to BDT 5,124.
According to the survey, 81.5 percent of participating households believe that obtaining services without paying bribes is difficult. High levels of corruption in law enforcement and judicial services, in particular, remain major obstacles to accessing justice. Corruption in agricultural services, local government institutions, land administration, education, healthcare, passport services, and the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has also either increased or remained at previous levels.
Despite experiencing corruption, 61.3 percent of households did not file any complaints. According to them, the entire system is corrupt. Nearly half of the households were unaware of where and how to report incidents of corruption.
Despite 29.5 percent of households being aware of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and only 1.4 percent knew about the government’s grievance redress mechanism, the rate of filing complaints remained very low, the survey found. Even when complaints were submitted, many were either not accepted or no action was taken.
Participants identified impunity, lack of public awareness, and the fact that individuals involved in corruption often receive benefits rather than punishment as the primary drivers of corruption.
The report further stated that 66 percent of rural households had experienced bribery, compared with 58.5 percent of urban households. In terms of the amount paid, urban households generally had to pay higher bribes. Low-income families were often forced to pay more in bribes relative to their income.
The situation is even more challenging for women, Indigenous communities, and persons with disabilities, according to TIB’s observations. Although digital services have been introduced in various sectors, they have not been fully effective in reducing corruption. In many cases, service seekers still have to rely on brokers or intermediaries to access services, leaving opportunities for bribery and corruption largely intact.