A Dhaka court has issued an arrest warrant against former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed after taking cognizance of a charge sheet filed in a case over alleged illegal assets worth more than Tk11 crore.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Sabbir Faiz passed the order on Sunday, declaring the former police chief a fugitive.
Md Riaz Hossain, bench assistant of the court, 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).
Following the investigation, the ACC submitted the charge sheet 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 charge sheet, Benazir declared movable assets worth Tk6.45 crore and immovable assets worth Tk5.74 crore in her asset statement.
However, the investigation found evidence of movable assets worth Tk7.52 crore and immovable assets worth Tk8.15 crore in her name, bringing the total value of assets identified to about Tk15.68 crore.
Investigators found legitimate income sources amounting to Tk6.59 crore, with net savings of Tk4.63 crore after expenses. As a result, assets worth Tk11.04 crore were identified as being acquired beyond known sources of income.
The charge sheet also alleged that the funds were invested, transferred and converted through various bank accounts, business establishments and joint capital institutions in an attempt to conceal the illegal source, nature and ownership of the money.
