The Anti-Corruption Commission has claimed that former Inspector General of Police Benazir Ahmed and his family members have secretly withdrawn around Tk 100 crore from different banks before freezing their accounts.
ACC officials said that they had specific information on the withdrawal of money by Benazir from bank accounts and Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDR). The commission will provide all the information to the court in this regard, they added.
About the withdrawal of a huge amount of money, ACC commissioner (investigation) Md Zahurul Haque has recently said it was heard that Benazir had withdrawn some money. He further said that the ACC investigation officer will find what amount of money was withdrawn from his bank accounts and it can be found only by checking his bank accounts.
ACC officials said Benazir started withdrawing money in phases since media reports claimed that he and his family members amassed illegal wealth.
It also could not be known whether Benazir and his family members have already sold flats, land or other properties or transferred those in the name of others before the court order came into effect. Besides, there is confusion over if the former top police official is in Bangladesh. However, sources said that Benazir with his family is now staying in Dubai.
Meanwhile, it has been found that Benazir’s two daughters– Farheen Rishta Binte Benazir and Tahseen Raisa Binte Benazir– have ownership of the private satellite television channel, Citizen TV. Both of them were students when the television channel got approval in 2017.
On the other hand, considering the request of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has sent letters to some countries, seeking information on whether the former IGP and his family own any assets there.
On 23 May, Judge Mohammad As-Shams Jaglul Hossain of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge’s Court ordered confiscation of 345 bighas (114 acres) of land in Gopalganj, encompassed by 83 deeds, and freezing of 33 bank accounts belonging to Benazir and his family members.
Before the court order took effect, money was withdrawn or transferred from bank accounts. It could not be confirmed whether Benazir knew about the matter earlier that the bank accounts could be frozen, or he anticipated such an issue.
A senior official of a government agency said that in such a case, whenever someone realises that he/she might be brought to book, the individual withdraws money. However, it is possible to trace the money whether it is kept in cash, or deposited in someone else's account, he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, the ACC decided to interrogate Benazir and his family members over their alleged accumulation of illegal wealth.
The former police chief was likely to be interrogated on June 6 at the ACC headquarters in the capital’s Segun Bagicha, and his wife, Zeeshan Mirza, and other family members were likely to be quizzed on June 9.
Following a petition filed by the ACC on May 19, a Dhaka senior special judge’s court ordered the seizure of all properties listed in 119 documents under the names of Benazir and his family members.
Apart from this, four companies under his family members’ names and partial shares in 15 companies, four BO accounts, and four flats in Gulshan area have been instructed for seizure.
On May 23, the same court also ordered freezing of 33 financial accounts of Benazir and his family members and seizure of 345 bighas of land listed in 83 documents under Benazir and his family members’ names in Gopalganj and Cox’s Bazar.
The court ordered the seizure of approximately 621 bighas of land in total owned by Benazir and his family members.
The ACC at a meeting on April 18 decided to carry out an inquiry against Benazir for allegedly accumulating illegal wealth after newspapers and electronic media ran reports in this regard.
The reports highlighted the lavish lifestyle of Benazir family and his holding of shares in different companies.
According to the reports, his ‘unusual assets’ did not match with legal sources of income of the former IGP, whom the government awarded ‘Shuddhachar Purashkar’—an award given for honesty, morality, and proper financial management, among other qualities of integrity.
The reports triggered widespread criticism of Benazir Ahmed and his family.
In a Facebook post, Benazir, however, claimed media reports about amassing illegal wealth were false, distorted and motivated.
On December 10, 2021, the United States declared then IGP Benazir ineligible to enter the country for ‘gross violations of human rights’ while serving as RAB director general.
