US imposes travel ban on former Bangladesh army chief Aziz Ahmed, his family

The State Department said the decision was made due to his involvement in significant corruption and undermining democracy

The US has imposed a travel ban on former Bangladesh army chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed and his immediate family.

The action renders Aziz and his immediate family ‘generally ineligible for entry to the US’, the country’s Department of State said in a statement on its website on Monday.

“The US Department of State announced today the public designation of former General Aziz Ahmed, previously Chief of the Bangladesh Army Staff, due to his involvement in significant corruption. His actions have contributed to the undermining of Bangladesh’s democratic institutions and the public’s faith in public institutions and processes,” the statement read.

“Aziz Ahmed engaged in significant corruption by interfering in public processes while helping his brother evade accountability for criminal activity in Bangladesh. Aziz also worked closely with his brother to ensure the improper awarding of military contracts and accepted bribes in exchange for government appointments for his personal benefit.”

bdnews24.com has been unable to get a comment from Aziz or the Bangladesh government about the allegations of corruption or the US's decision.

Aziz served as Bangladesh’s chief of army staff from June 2018 to June 2021. He also served as the chief of Border Guard Bangladesh for four years from 2012.

In February 2021, an Al-Jazeera news report titled ‘All the Prime Minister’s Men’ brought a slate of allegations, including corruption, against then army chief Aziz. The army headquarters and the Foreign Ministry issued statements calling the report ‘false’ and ‘slanderous’.

Aziz said at the time that many kinds of ‘disinformation’ were being spread about the army in order to create ‘unrest’.

In December 2021, the US imposed sanctions on Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion and seven of its current and former officers on charges of ‘serious human rights violations’.

The Bangladesh government has repeatedly called for the restrictions to be lifted, but the US has not done so.

Recently, the matter was a topic of discussion during US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu’s visit to Dhaka in mid-May. But, following Lu’s return, State Department spokesman Vedanta Patel made clear that the sanctions against RAB would not be lifted.

Tensions between the US and Bangladesh rose last year ahead of the elections as the US imposed a visa ban on certain Bangladeshi nationals.

The US said at the time the visa policy to block entry to the country was imposed against those who disrupted the democratic election process in Bangladesh.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at the time that the policy applied to members of law enforcement and activists from the ruling and opposition parties, though it was not clear exactly who or how many were subject to the visa ban.