Sources said the ACC also wants to quickly plug the legal loopholes and resolve complications before cases can be filed against already listed 50 corruption suspects.

During separate meetings between the three-member ACC and the chief adviser (CA), law adviser and communication adviser on Monday, the anti-graft commission members stressed the importance of closing the legal gaps that might jeopardise actions against corruption suspects.

Currently, there is no ACC rule although the ACC Act states that the commission must have a set of rules, approved by the president, guiding its activities. Since its formation in 2004, the ACC has not been able to finalise the rules.

Sources said the ACC will not take any major step, such as publishing a new list or filing cases against the 'big fishes' of corruption, until ACC Chairman Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury returns from an overseas trip on March 11.

"Although the ACC Act does not prevent the two ACC commissioners from taking major decisions in absence of their chairman, the commissioners will wait for his return given the importance of the new list of corruption suspects and legal actions against the already listed 50," said a source.

The massive task of investigating the listed 50 has not been completed by the 20 anti-graft teams formed by the government.

The ACC wants to start working on new lists of corruption suspects only after the inquiries into the listed 50 are completed, said the sources.

The new list might also include fewer than 50 names, as probing 50 big names simultaneously has proven to be too cumbersome, the sources added. The government currently has a list of 420 corruption suspects, which will be released in phases.

Questions have already been raised regarding whether the ACC secretary went beyond his jurisdiction by ordering the listed 50 suspects to submit their wealth statements, and several writs have already been filed with the High Court (HC) raising various questions regarding the move.

The ACC first wants to examine related laws including the ACC Act, bring necessary amendments to the act, and formulate necessary rules so that it does not have to face similar legal challenges when it publishes lists of corruption suspects in the future.

On February 19, after publishing the first list comprising the names of 50 corruption suspects, ACC Secretary Delwar Hossain said, "It's a continuous process. There will be more lists in the future."

The current three-member ACC did not even exist when its secretary published the list of 50 suspects in the name of the commission ordering them to submit their wealth statements, although the ACC Act states that it is the commission which must decide whether to order anyone to submit a statement of wealth. The ACC Secretariat was however functioning at the time since dissolution of the immediate past commission.

Questions have been raised in several quarters, whether the ACC secretary has the authority to ask anyone for his or her wealth statement without a decision from the commission.

The newly appointed ACC chairman and commissioners have given an ex post facto approval to the ACC secretary's moves made prior to the formation of the current commission.

The ACC had asked those among the listed 50, who had not been in jail, to submit their wealth statements in person, and the already detained could submit theirs through their representatives.

Yet, the ACC has been compelled by a High Court order to accept the wealth statement of former Awami League lawmaker HBM Iqbal from his wife, as he was considered too ill to submit the statement in person.

On the other hand, the wealth statement of Sylhet's BNP leader Ariful Haq Chowdhury was not accepted from his representative on Sunday, because the ACC Secretariat in Dhaka had not received information that Ariful had surrendered to a court in Sylhet on the same day.

The commission accepted his wealth statement on Monday, a day after the deadline had passed, when it was confirmed that Ariful had surrendered.

Now there are seven writ petitions pending at the HC filed by seven listed corruption suspects who asked the court to permit them to submit their wealth statements through their representatives.

The seven filed the petitions after the 72-hour deadline for submitting their statements had passed on Sunday.

Replying to a query, ACC Commissioner Abul Hasan Manzur Mannan said if the HC orders the commission to receive the wealth statements of the seven despite knowing that they filed the petitions after the deadline had passed, the commission will follow the court's order.

Sources said out of a fear that the legal maze might spoil the ACC's plan to wage a 'war on corruption', the commission wants to take precautionary steps to plug the gaps in the legal system so it does not face similar challenges in the future.

Before leaving Dhaka on Monday, Mashhud said they will not violate the law or resort to coercion.

The caretaker government on Tuesday sent a set of draft rules for the ACC to the commission's chairman and the commissioners to check for possible additions or alterations to the rules of inquiry, case filing, investigation, and formation of prosecution teams.

The rules will be finalised after receiving the ACC's feedback.

Sources said the ACC will not take any legal measure against the already listed 50 corruption suspects before the rules are finalised.

Filing of cases against the listed 50 might start in the second week of March, ACC sources said adding that the commission wants to complete the filings by March 20.