Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Secretary Khorsheda Yasmin has said ex-IGP Benazir Ahmed will face legal action if he fails to appear before the commission during office hours on Sunday.
"Benazir Ahmed was supposed to give his statement before the ACC and face quizzing today (Sunday) about the allegations made against him … The investigation team will take legal actions if he does not appear before the commission during office hours today (Sunday) to give his statement," she said.
During a press briefing, the official said the ACC had received a letter from the former inspector general of police containing his statement regarding the allegations of amassing wealth beyond known sources of income.
The letter does not include information regarding his appearance before the ACC, she said.
She further said: "His wife and daughters have been asked to appear tomorrow (Monday). The investigation team will follow the law and act against them if they do not show up by the scheduled time tomorrow (Monday). Now the ACC probe team will take further decisions based on the statement of Benazir.”
Benazir and his family missed ACC appointments on June 6 and 9, respectively. The ACC then rescheduled the dates to June 23 and June 24.
On Thursday, the ACC said they would not give Benazir Ahmed any more time for his interrogation over allegations of corruption and possession of illegal wealth.
Benazir served as IGP from April 2020 to September 2022 and as director general of the Rapid Action Battalion from January 2015 to April 2020.
He also served as commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) for an extended period.
ACC officials said court orders had been issued for the seizure of Benazir’s assets discovered so far.
In total, 12 flats in Dhaka have been identified in the name of Benazir Ahmed's family, including an earlier discovery of four flats in Gulshan.
Following an application by the ACC, Dhaka Senior Special Judge Mohammed Ash-Shams Joglul Hossain recently ordered the seizure of eight flats belonging to Benazir Ahmed's family.
The court also ordered the seizure of approximately 76 bighas (25 acres) of land and shares in different companies.
Previously, the court had ordered the seizure of 621 bighas of land in Gopalganj, Madaripur, Cox's Bazar and Savar in Dhaka, shares in 19 companies, and four flats in Gulshan in two phases in the name of Benazir Ahmed and his family.
At that time, the court also ordered the freezing of Tk30 lakh in savings certificates, 33 bank accounts and three BO accounts (beneficiary owner's accounts for share trading).