The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has found evidence of former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed using seven passports to acquire illegal assets, said a senior source of the commission to Dhaka Tribune on Tuesday afternoon.
ACC Deputy Director Hafizul Islam said in a notice that the ACC has found five passport numbers: E0017616, AA1073252, BC0111070, BM0828141 and AND800002095.
The commission is investigating into acquiring proper information on the remaining two passports with the help of the Passport Division, the official added.
The commission chairman and secretary declined to comment immediately when asked by a journalist on the matter
The ACC has so far questioned eight passport officials about the passports.
The officials are Mohsin Islam, Abu Md. Motaleb Hossain, Addul Zalil Mondol, Munshi Muyed Ikram, Abdullah Al Mamun, Abu Nyem Masum, Saydur Rahman and Subash Chandra Roy.
Another source at the commission told Dhaka Tribune that former IGP Benazir Ahmed has amassed thousands of crores in illegal wealth through corruption and concealed his police identity through these passports. The passports identified the ex-IGP as someone working in the private sector.
During questioning, passport officials assured the commission that the Department of Immigration and Passports (DIP) had blocked the passports and sent a letter to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) headquarters for scrutiny when they found that multiple passports were being issued to an individual. However, the former IGP somehow managed to misuse his power and secured the seven passports without appearing at the passport office.
When the commission inquired why no one had tried to stop the collection of the passports, the passport officials said they were helpless and afraid of losing their jobs.