A Dhaka court has issued an arrest warrant against former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed after taking cognizance of a chargesheet filed in a case over alleged illegal assets worth more than Tk11 crore.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz issued the order on Sunday, declaring the former police chief a fugitive.
The bench assistant Md Riaz Hossain confirmed the development and said police had been asked to submit a report by March 30 on whether Benazir Ahmed had been arrested.
The case was filed on December 15, 2024, by Hafizul Islam, deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
After the investigation, the ACC submitted the chargesheet on November 30 last year, accusing Benazir Ahmed of amassing wealth beyond known sources of income, concealing asset information and laundering money.
According to the chargesheet, Benazir declared immovable assets worth Tk 64.53 million and movable assets worth Tk 57.49 million in his wealth statement. However, the investigation found evidence of immovable assets worth Tk 75.26 million and movable assets worth Tk 81.53 million in his name.
In total, assets worth about Tk 156.8 million were identified, while his legitimate income stood at Tk 65.94 million. After expenses, his net savings were calculated at Tk 46.35 million. Investigators therefore found that he accumulated assets worth Tk 110.44 million beyond known sources of income.
The charge sheet further alleged that he concealed the illegal sources, nature and ownership of the funds and laundered the money through investments, transfers and conversions in various bank accounts, business entities and joint capital ventures.
