A Dhaka court has recorded the testimonies of five more witnesses in a case filed over the acquisition of illegal assets by former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed, bringing the total number of witnesses examined to 44 out of 47.
The witnesses testified before Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 on Thursday. As the accused remains a fugitive, no cross-examination was conducted on his behalf.
After recording their statements, the court set November 19 for the next hearing.
Mir Ahmed Ali Salam, counsel for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), confirmed the development.
He said the investigating officer had uncovered new information about the purchase of a house in the United States by Benazir during the witness examination stage. Details of the bank transfers used for the purchase were not included in the original charge sheet.
The investigating officer subsequently submitted a supplementary charge sheet, incorporating the additional financial information and increasing the number of witnesses.
The five witnesses are Md Kader Hossain, first assistant vice-president (FAVP) of Prime Bank; Rajiur Rahman Zahid, a manager at Standard Chartered Bank; Md Enamul Haque, FAVP of United Commercial Bank; Md Al Amin, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) at Police Headquarters; and SM Manjurul Haque, former additional deputy commissioner of Bandarban district.
Earlier, on March 8, the court took cognizance of the charge sheet and issued an arrest warrant against Benazir. On May 3, the same court framed charges against him, ordering the commencement of the trial.
The case was filed on December 15, 2024, by ACC Deputy Director Hafizul Islam.
Following an investigation, Hafizul submitted a charge sheet on November 30 last year, accusing Benazir of acquiring assets disproportionate to his known sources of income, concealing information about his assets and laundering money.
According to the charge sheet, Benazir declared immovable assets worth Tk64,537,365 and movable assets worth Tk57,489,966 in his statement of assets.
However, the investigation found immovable assets worth Tk75,268,987 and movable assets worth Tk81,531,264 in his name, totalling Tk15.68 crore.
His legitimate sources of income amounted to Tk65,942,668, while his net savings after accounting for expenditure stood at Tk46,356,675.
The investigation found that he had acquired assets worth Tk110,443,576 disproportionate to his known sources of income. He allegedly concealed the illicit origins, nature and ownership of the funds and subsequently invested, transferred and converted them through various bank accounts, business enterprises and joint-stock companies.
Meanwhile, on October 7, ACC Deputy Director Hafizul Islam submitted a supplementary charge sheet against Benazir.
According to the supplementary charge sheet, Benazir, along with his wife and daughter, acquired assets worth Tk784,016,895 at home and abroad that were disproportionate to their known sources of income. The total number of witnesses in the case now stands at 47.
