Court orders seizure of tax records of Benazir’s wife, daughter and Harun

Benazir and his two family members stand accused in a corruption case

A court has ordered the seizure of the income tax records of former police chief Benazir Ahmed’s wife, Zeeshan Mirza, and daughter, Tahsin Raisa Binte Benazir.

The court has also ordered the seizure of the tax documents of former chief of detective police Mohammad Harunor Rashid.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Sabbir Faiz issued the orders on Wednesday after Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director Muhammad Zainul Abedin submitted three separate petitions.

Bench assistant Riaz Hossain said the court has ordered Tax Zone-20 in Dhaka to provide the records to the ACC.

On Dec 15 last year, the ACC filed four cases against Benazir, his wife, and their two daughters—Tahsin and Farheen Rishta Binte Benazir—over allegations of illegally amassing assets worth around Tk 750 million. Benazir was also named as an accused in the cases filed against his wife and daughters.

Benazir Ahmed was the first police chief in Bangladesh to have served both as commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police and as director general of the Rapid Action Battalion. He retired on Sept 30, 2022.

The government has not made any official statement on whether Benazir, his wife, and their daughters have left the country. The letter Benazir sent resigning as the president of the Boat Club said he was staying abroad with his family. Multiple media outlets have also reported that the family has already left the country.

In its petition to seize the documents of Zeeshan Mirza, the ACC alleged that she concealed information and provided “false” declarations regarding assets worth Tk 160 million.

It also alleged that she amassed immovable and movable assets worth Tk 310 million beyond known sources of income. The ACC also accused Benazir of “abusing his power” to assist her in these offences.

The ACC said tax returns must be seized for a proper investigation.

In its petition to seize the income tax records of Tahsin, the ACC said she acquired immovable and movable assets worth Tk 50 million beyond known sources of income.

Benazir was also accused of “abusing his power” to help his daughter commit these offences.

In the petition seeking the seizure of Harun’s tax documents, the ACC said he acquired assets worth Tk 170 million beyond known sources of income by “abusing his power”.

On Dec 17 last year, the ACC filed a case against Harun, his wife, and his brother over allegations of acquiring “illegal assets”