Testimony begins in graft case against ex-IGP Benazir

Testimony has begun in the corruption case filed against
former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed over allegations of
amassing illegal wealth.
Hafizul
Islam, deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and complainant
in the case, gave his deposition before the court of Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of
Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 today (12 May), bench assistant of the concerned
court, Sohanur Rahman, confirmed the matter.
"As
the accused remains absconding, the witness could not be cross-examined,"
he said.
Following the testimony, the court fixed 20 May for the next hearing.
Earlier
on 3 May, the same court framed charges against Benazir Ahmed and ordered the
trial to begin.
Before
that, on 8 March, the court took cognisance of the charge sheet and issued an
arrest warrant against the former police chief.
The
case was filed on 15 December 2024 by ACC deputy director Hafizul Islam.
After completing the investigation, he submitted the charge sheet on 30
November last year, accusing Benazir Ahmed of acquiring wealth beyond known
sources of income, concealing asset information and laundering money.
According to the charge sheet, Benazir Ahmed declared immovable assets worth
Tk6.45 crore and movable assets worth Tk5.74 crore in his submitted wealth
statement.
However,
investigators found evidence of immovable assets worth Tk7.52 crore and movable
assets worth Tk8.15 crore in his name, bringing the total proven assets to
around Tk15.68 crore.
The
investigation also found that his legitimate income sources amounted to Tk6.59
crore, while his net savings after expenditures stood at Tk4.63 crore.
As
a result, the ACC alleged that Benazir Ahmed accumulated assets worth Tk11.04
crore beyond known sources of income.
The
charge sheet further alleged that he concealed the illegal sources, nature and
ownership of the money by investing, transferring and converting the funds
through various bank accounts, business entities and joint ventures.















