The Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court on Monday ordered the authorities concerned to request an Interpol ‘red notice’ for the arrest of former inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed in connection with graft cases.
Judge Md Zakir Hossain of the court passed the order accepting a petition submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission’s deputy director Md Hafijul Islam.
In his petition, Hafijul said that an arrest warrant needed to be issued against Benazir through Interpol as the former IGP remained absconding abroad, and it was needed to arrest the former police boss to bring him to justice.
On December 15, 2024, three cases were filed against Benazir, his wife, and two daughters on charges of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 74 crore and concealing information about their wealth.
The cases allege that Benazir acquired Tk 9.44 crore in assets beyond known sources of income and concealed information about assets worth about Tk 2.62 crore.
His wife, Jissan Mirza, is accused of acquiring Tk 31.69 crore in illegal assets and concealing information about assets worth Tk 16.01 crore.
Their elder daughter, Farheen Rishita Binte Benazir, is accused of amassing illegal wealth worth Tk 8.75 crore, and their second daughter, Tahseen Raisa Binte Benazir, amassed illegal wealth worth Tk 5.59 crore.
On June 12, 2024, the court ordered the confiscation of eight apartments and 27.5 acres of land, including properties in Dhaka’s Badda and Adabar, as well as land in Narayanganj, Bandarban, and Uttara.
The court also froze assets such as 621 bighas of land in Gopalganj and Madaripur, shares in 19 companies, four flats in Gulshan, and several other financial assets.
The court also blocked his savings certificates worth Tk 30 lakh, 33 bank accounts, and three Beneficial Owner Accounts (BO Accounts) for share trading.
Benazir and his family members left the country on May 4, 2024 after the ACC had started a probe against them on April 18 over graft charges.