A Dhaka court has begun hearing testimony in a case against former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed for acquiring illegal assets worth over Tk 110 million.
Deputy Director of the Anti-Corruption Commi-ssion (ACC) Hafizul Islam, the plaintiff in the case, testified in the court of Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of the Dhaka's Special Judges' Court on Wednesday.
Following his testimony, May 20 was set for the next hearing, said Sohanur Rahman, the court's bench assistant.
On May 3, the same court had indicted Benazir and ordered the case to trial.
An arrest warrant had been issued against the former police chief on Mar 8, after the chargesheet against him had been accepted.
The case was filed on Dec 15, 2024, by ACC Deputy Director Hafizul. After completing the investigation, on Nov 30 of last year, Hafizul submitted the chargesheet accusing him of acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income, concealing asset information, and money laundering.
According to the chargesheet, Benazir declared immovable assets worth Tk 64.5 million and movable assets worth Tk 57.4 million in his submitted wealth statement.
The investigation, however, found evidence of immovable assets worth Tk 75.2 million and movable assets worth Tk 81.5 million in his possession. This indicates total assets worth Tk 156.8 million.
His lawful sources of income were found to be Tk 65.9 million. After deducting expenses, his net savings stood at Tk 46.3 million.
As a result, Benazir is alleged to have acquired assets worth Tk 110 million beyond known sources of income.
The chargesheet further said, "Benazir Ahmed concealed the illegal source, nature, and ownership of these funds and invested, transferred, and converted them through various bank accounts, business entities, and joint capital ventures."
