Benazir graft case: Court sets next witness hearing on 18 October

A Dhaka court has set 18 October for the next hearing to record testimony in a graft case against former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed, as no prosecution witnesses appeared in court today (11 October).

Judge Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 fixed the date, confirmed Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) public prosecutor Mir Ahmed Ali Salam.

So far, 15 of the 28 prosecution witnesses have testified in the case involving allegations of illegal wealth accumulation, concealment of assets and money laundering.

The court accepted the charge sheet and issued an arrest warrant against Benazir on 8 March. It formally began the trial by framing charges against him on 3 May.

The ACC filed the case against the former police chief on 15 December 2024, with ACC Deputy Director Hafizul Islam as the complainant. Following an investigation, Hafizul submitted the charge sheet on 30 November last year, accusing Benazir of acquiring assets beyond his known sources of income, concealing wealth information and laundering money.

According to the charge sheet, Benazir declared immovable assets worth Tk6.45 crore and movable assets worth Tk5.74 crore in his wealth statement.

However, investigators found evidence of immovable assets worth Tk7.52 crore and movable assets worth Tk8.15 crore in his name, putting the total value of his assets at Tk15.68 crore.

The investigation found that his legitimate income amounted to Tk6.59 crore, while his net savings after deducting expenses stood at Tk4.63 crore.

The ACC alleged that Benazir had accumulated Tk11.04 crore in assets beyond his known sources of income.

The commission further alleged that he concealed the source, nature and ownership of the illicit funds and laundered them through investments, transfers and conversions involving bank accounts, businesses and joint-stock companies.