Ex-army chief Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan admits procurement corruption, rejects responsibility, citing jurisdiction

Former army chief, Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan, admitted that corruption occurred in procurement during his tenure but insisted he had no personal involvement and did not conduct any investigation, claiming the matter was beyond his authority.

He made the statement while testifying at the International Crimes Tribunal-1 in the case against Major General (Retd) Ziaul Ahsan, who faces charges of crimes against humanity linked to over a hundred enforced disappearances under the Awami League government.

Bhuiyan's testimony was conducted today (3 March) before a three-member bench led by Justice Md Golam Mortuza Majumder. This marked the fourth day of his cross-examination in the case, during which the defence lawyer, Abul Hasan, questioned him extensively.

At one point, the defence alleged that the former army chief himself was involved in the procurement corruption. Iqbal firmly denied the claim, stating, "This is not true. Corruption did occur in procurement while I was army chief, but I was not personally involved, and I did not investigate any corruption as claimed."

When asked whether he had taken any action to identify or recover illicit funds, the former CAS said he had not, reiterating that it was outside his jurisdiction.

On another point, he explained that army law allows punishment for disobeying a chief's order. However, since Ziaul Ahsan was serving in RAB at the time, no warnings or explanations were sought for any alleged corruption or noncompliance.

Defence lawyer Hasan claimed that Ziaul Ahsan fully obeyed the chief's orders. The former army chief countered, saying, "It is not true that Ziaul Ahsan obeyed all my lawful orders without exception."

With Iqbal Karim Bhuiyan's four-day cross-examination concluded, the tribunal scheduled the next hearing for 9 March.