Court orders confiscation of more property of Benazir -
ACC smells attempted asset transfer and money laundering
FE REPORT | Thursday, 13 June 2024
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has identified more movable and immovable assets belonging to former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed and his family.
In the latest development in a series of court orders related to Benazir Ahmed's alleged corruption, a Dhaka court on Wednesday instructed the relevant authorities to confiscate these properties located across three districts.
The confiscation is linked to corruption allegations against Benazir Ahmed, according to ACC lawyer Mahmud Hossain Jahangir.
The anti-graft body filed a petition accusing the former IGP of amassing illegal wealth worth billions of taka, both domestically and internationally, in his and his family's names, according to a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) report.
The petition further alleges that the accused are currently attempting to sell or transfer the assets and launder the money abroad.
The ACC warned that if successful, these actions would cause significant financial loss to the state.
The FE correspondent reports that the immovable properties include 24 kathas of land in Rupganj, Narayanganj; three kathas of land in Dhaka's Uttara area; two flats totalling 3,075 square feet in Dhaka's Badda; 25 acres of land in Bandarban; and six flats in Dhaka's Adabor.
Movable assets include shares in Citizen Television Ltd and Tigerafit Apparels Ltd.
Judge Mohammed Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain of the Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court in Dhaka issued the order.
The application for confiscation was submitted by ACC Deputy Director Md Hafizul Islam, who is also the enquiry official for this case.
On 23 May, a Dhaka court ordered the confiscation of properties registered under 83 deeds, totalling 114 acres of land and the freezing of 33 bank accounts belonging to Benazir and his family.
Three days later, the same court issued another order to seize assets linked to 119 more deeds in connection with the allegations.
The court also directed the confiscation of eight properties wholly owned by Benazir, his wife Jissan Mirza and their three daughters, along with 15 partially-owned properties.