The Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday decided to initiate an inquiry against former army chief retired General Aziz Ahmed over allegations of amassing a huge amount of illegal wealth at home and abroad.
The commission also decided to start an inquiry against former Feni-2 constituency lawmaker Nizam Uddin Hazari over聽 allegations of amassing illegal assets through corruption and abusing power.
Besides, former chief whip of Jatiya Sangsad Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury and four other former lawmakers, scheduled to appear on Wednesday, did not appear at the ACC for facing interrogation over allegations of amassing illegal assets.
ACC secretary Khorsheda Yasmeen told journalists that the commission took decisions on inquiries against former army chief Aziz and former lawmaker Nizam Hazari based on graft allegations.
She also said that there were allegations that Aziz purchased plots and flats in different places, including in Dhaka, through abusing power, corruption, and misconduct.
According to the allegations, Aziz has built a luxurious bungalow house, spending Tk 100 crore, while he has houses in DOHS at Mirpur and Nikunja in Dhaka.
He also purchased houses and several hundred bighas of land in the names of his younger brothers, including Tofayel Ahmed in Dhaka.
The former army chief laundered money through hundi and banking channels for conducting business and purchasing property in Malaysia, Singapore, and Dubai.
Recent reports suggested that Aziz鈥檚 brother Haris Ahmed used the alias Mohammad Hasan to obtain a national identity card, falsely mentioning Suleman Sarkar and Rahela Begum as his parents.
Additionally, he changed his photo on his NID card in 2019, with the recommendation for the change coming from his brother Aziz when he was the army chief.
Aziz鈥檚 brother Tofael Ahmed, alias Joseph, possessed two NID cards鈥攐ne under his actual name with parents listed as Abdul Wadud and Renuja Begum, and another under the name Tanvir Ahmed Tanjeel, with different parent names.
Aziz鈥檚 corruption issue came to the fore after the United States imposed sanctions on Aziz Ahmed and his immediate family members on May 21, citing his alleged involvement in serious corruption.
Aziz served as the chief of army staff from June 2018 to June 2021 and also led the Border Guard Bangladesh from 2012 to 2016.
Aziz, the eldest among five brothers, had siblings who made headlines for criminal activities such as murder, extortion, and illegal possession of firearms during the 1990s and 2000s.
Joseph, in particular, was implicated in 10 cases related to extortion and illegal firearms possession.
In 2004, Joseph was sentenced to death while Haris and another brother, Anis, were sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case.
The spotlight intensified on Aziz Ahmed when Joseph was granted clemency in the murder case in 2018, followed by similar actions for Haris and Anis in 2019.
An Al-Jazeera documentary 鈥楢ll the prime minister鈥檚 men,鈥� aired on February 1, 2021, alleged that Aziz misused his influence to secure contracts for his convicted brothers.
Meanwhile, former chief whip Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury, former minister Qamrul Islam, and three other former lawmakers did not appear at the commission on Wednesday.
Qamrul Islam submitted a petition through his lawyer seeking time, but the rest of the four did not respond to the notices.
Earlier, the ACC summoned them, asking them to appear in person at the commission.
The other three are former state minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Kujendra Lal Tripura and two former AL lawmakers, Ziaur Rahman and Qashim Uddin Ahmed.