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Former chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Sheikh Abdul Hannan. Photo: Collected
Former chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Sheikh Abdul Hannan has been arrested in Qatar in connection with a corruption case filed by the ACC.
He was taken to the custody on 15 October.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Secretary Md Saidur
Rahman Khan shared this information on Sunday during the commission’s regular
media briefing at the ACC headquarters here.
He said the ACC received the news of Sheikh Abdul Hannan’s
arrest unofficially on Saturday and officially on Sunday through Interpol. The
information was conveyed via the National Central Bureau (NCB) of Bangladesh
Police.
The ACC Secretary noted that Sheikh Abdul Hannan faces
allegations of acquiring assets worth Tk3,28, 51,506 that are contrary to his
known sources of income.
Additionally, he is accused of conducting suspicious transactions
worth about Tk14,08, 57,145 across various bank accounts and money laundering.
He further explained that, following the verification of these allegations, a case was filed at the ACC’s Dhaka-1 office on 27 July 2025. The charges were brought under section 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 and section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947.
According to the ACC sources, a three-member team was formed on 6 February 2025, based on a directive from the ACC headquarters, to investigate into the allegations against Sheikh Abdul Hannan.
These allegations include abuse of power, causing loss to
state funds, accepting bribes, irregularities in recruitment, misappropriation
of funds through various corrupt practices, money laundering, and the
acquisition of assets inconsistent to his known sources of income both in his
own name and in the names of his family members.
The investigation team was formed led by ACC Deputy Director
Tanjir Hasib Sarkar.
Subsequently, ACC Assistant Director Mahmudul Hasan was
appointed as the Investigating Officer (IO) for the case.
As part of the investigation, letters were sent to the
Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) of Bangladesh Bank on 23 May 2026
and to the AIG of the NCB of Bangladesh Police on 21 June 2026, seeking
information regarding the assets held by Sheikh Abdul Hannan in various
countries including Qatar and Canada.
The ACC Secretary stated that, with the approval of the
commission and pursuant to a court order, both movable and immovable assets
belonging to Sheikh Abdul Hannan and his wife have been attached and frozen. A
receiver has been appointed to oversee these assets.
Furthermore, steps have been taken to impose a travel ban,
prohibiting him from leaving the country.
In response to a question regarding the repatriation of
Abdul Hannan, he stated that the ACC has taken all necessary initiatives to
collect and provide the required information. The Home Ministry, the Foreign
Ministry and the ACC are working in a coordinated manner to bring him back to
the country.
He mentioned that they are in contact with the relevant
authorities to obtain the information requested from various sources. Necessary
steps are being taken based on information received through relevant offices in
locations including Doha (Qatar) and Switzerland.
He expressed hope that positive developments in this regard
will emerge in the near future.
The ACC Secretary noted that the case is currently under
investigation.