Press Release
Dhaka, 07 October 2025: Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) called for the attention of all concerned to incorrect and misleading information regarding position of Bangladesh in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) developed by Transparency International (TI), as published in the Financial Times of London in a report based on an interview with the Acting Chairman of BNP. The error was subsequently republished in several major Bangladeshi newspapers on 06 October 2025.
Since 1995, Transparency International has been publishing the Corruption Perceptions Index. Bangladesh was first included in the CPI in 2001, during which it ranked the lowest among all surveyed countries. At that time, the government was led by the Awami League. Bangladesh continued to remain at the bottom of the index for four consecutive years until 2005, when the country was governed by the BNP-led four-party alliance from 2002 to 2005. Therefore, the claim in the Financial Times that Bangladesh remained at the bottom of the CPI for five consecutive years during the tenure of BNP is factually incorrect.
TIB urged all parties to take note of the accurate and verified data on Bangladesh’s position in the CPI as published by TI and exercise caution to avoid the risk of misunderstanding or misinterpretation. TIB has already directly communicated with the concerned journalist of the Financial Times regarding the erroneous and misleading claims and has requested that a correction be published.
It is to be noted that TIB does not play any role in determining the CPI scores or rankings. There is no scope of including data or analysis from researches conducted by TIB in the CPI. TIB only disseminates the global CPI findings at the national level in Bangladesh like other TI national chapters.
Media Contact:
Mohammad Tauhidul Islam
Director, Outreach and Communication
Phone: +8801713107868
Email: tauhidul@ti-bangladesh.org
