Benazir did not take govt permission before buying land

According to the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules, no government employee or member of his family can start a business establishment without permission of the government. In fact, permission is even required if property worth over Tk 250,000 (Tk 2.5 lakh) is bought or sold. But no one in home ministry’s public security division is able to say whether the former police chief Benazir Ahmed took permission in this regard or not.

The Anti-Corruption Commission’s recent investigations have revealed that while Benazir Ahmed had been the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, then the RAB director general and then the inspector general of police (IGP), business companies had been opened and huge wealth amassed in the names of his wife and offspring. He even bought land in his own name and became partners in several companies, which public administration experts see as a violation of government service rules.

According to the Government Servants (Conduct) Rules (3 and 17), no government employee can be involved in any business outside of government service without permission of the government. Government permission is even required for his wife and children to do business.

The home ministry’s public security division is the authority that is to provide such permission. Speaking to relevant persons yesterday, Thursday, in the office of the public security division’s secretary, including two additional secretaries and two joint secretaries of the concerned department, it was learnt that there was no information in the concerned department about any such permission being given by the home ministry while Benazir Ahmed was in service.

This correspondent yesterday, Thursday, spoke to the secretary of the public security division Jahangir Alam. He had joined that post only yesterday and so was not apprised about Benazir Ahmed. However, he said that as far as he knew, if the members of the family were dependents of the former IGP, then they must take permission from the government to do business.

From 2010 to 2015 Benazir Ahmed has been the DMP commissioner. From 2015 to 2020 he had been the RAB DG. From 2020 till 30 September 2022 he had been IGP. Then he went on retirement.      

ACC investigations now reveal that there are large amounts of land, flats, companies and shares in companies in the name of Benazir Ahmed, his wife and his three daughters. Most of these have been amassed while he was in service. This includes the joint stock company Savanna Natural Park and farms in Gopalganj registered on 10 May 2022, Savanna Agro Limited on 1 March of the same year, Savanna Eco Resort on 10 May and Ekti Shishir Bindu Ltd registered on 18 April the same year. Benazir was IGP at the time.

In the meantime, based on an appeal by the ACC, the court has issued orders to seize 621 bighas of land in the name of Benazir Ahmed, his wife, daughters and relatives. Of this, 7.60 acres (23 bighas) of land has been bought in Benazir’s own name. When he had been the DMP commissioner, 175 decimals of land on St Martin’s Island had been purchased in 2014 in his name.

From 2017 to 2022, Mustafa Kamal Uddin had been the secretary of the home ministry’s public service division. He is presently the chairman of Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Speaking to Prothom Alo yesterday, Thursday, he said when he had been secretary of the public security division, Benazir had been the RAB DG and later the IGP. At that time Benazir has not taken any permission from the government that was required for the spouse and children of a government service holder to stat up a business establishment.

Prior to Mustafa Kamal Uddin, the public security division secretary had been Kamal Uddin Ahmed. He is now the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission. Speaking to Prothom Alo yesterday, Kamal Uddin Ahmed said that even during his tenure Benazir Ahmed hadn’t taken any permission for business establishments to be opened in the name of his wife or children.

Sheikh Yusuf Harun had been public security division secretary from 2019 till 2021. He is now the executive chairman of the Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) under the prime minister’s office. He told Prothom Alo during his tenure he had not heard of Benazir Ahmed taking any permission for companies in his family’s name.

Land had been purchased in the name of Benazir’s wife Zeeshan Mirza as a partner in a company called Southern Business Initiative. As far as known, Benazir’s wife had not been in any profession while he was in police service. But after allegations of corruption were raised, Benazir Ahmed said over a video on his Facebook page that his being a government servant cannot be an obstacle to his family members having business and property. He said his wife and daughters had fish farms. He did not mention in the video whether government permission had been taken to open these businesses.

Section 16 of the Government Servant Rules states that a government employee cannot establish, register, or take part in the management of a bank or any other company. But Benazir was a partner in several companies.

Speaking to Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity, two senior officials of the home ministry and the ministry for public administration, said from the accounts of the assets owned by Benazir Ahmed that are coming to light now, it is evident that he did not feel the need to take government permission. When applying to the government for permission to do business, one has to mention the sources of the money. He did not take that risk. After all, there is no scope to have so much wealth as a government servant.

Benazir Ahmed was not available for comment over the phone. Contact could not be made by sending messages over WhatsApp either.

Former secretary and former rector of the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) AKM Abdul Awal told Prothom Alo that the amount of wealth of the former IGP as revealed in ACC’s investigations is abnormal. If his wife and children have business and earnings by means of his influence, then it is the duty of the government to take action in accordance to the law.