Five more witnesses testify in graft case against former IGP Benazir

A Dhaka court on Thursday recorded the testimony of five more witnesses in a graft case filed against former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed over allegations of acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income and money laundering.

Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 recorded the testimony and set 19 November for the next hearing.

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So far, 44 of the 47 prosecution witnesses have testified in the case. Anti-Corruption Commission Prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam confirmed the information.

He said, the investigators obtained new information about Benazir Ahmed’s purchase of a house in the United States at the witness testimony stage in the case.

The investigation officer has filed a fresh supplementary charge sheet, he said adding that, this increasing both the amount of money involved and the number of witnesses.

The five witnesses who testified on Thursday were: Prime Bank FAVP Md Kader Hossain, Standard Chartered Bank Manager Rajiur Rahman Zahid, United Commercial Bank FAVP Md Enamul Haque, Police Headquarters ASI Md Al Amin, and former additional deputy commissioner of Bandarban SM Manjurul Haque.

Earlier, on 3 May, the same court framed charges against Benazir Ahmed, formally initiating the trial, after taking cognisance of the charge sheet and issuing an arrest warrant against him on 8 March.

ACC Deputy Director Hafizul Islam filed the case on 15 December 2024, alleging the acquisition of wealth beyond known sources of income, concealment of assets and money laundering.

After an investigation, the ACC submitted a charge sheet against Benazir Ahmed on 30 November last year, alleging that he had declared immovable assets worth Tk6.45 crore and movable assets worth Tk5.74 crore in his wealth statement.

However, the investigation found immovable assets worth Tk7.52 crore and moveable assets worth Tk8.15 crore in his name, bringing the total value of his assets to Tk15.68 crore.

His lawful income was found to be Tk6.59 crore, and his net savings after expenses stood at Tk4.63 crore. Therefore, he allegedly acquired Tk11.04 crore in unexplained wealth.

The allegations further state that Benazir Ahmed concealed the source, nature and ownership of these funds and invested, transferred and converted them through various bank accounts, business entities and joint-stock companies.