Ex-IGP Benazir Ahmed, facing graft trial in Bangladesh, freed on bail in Dubai
Former Bangladesh police chief Benazir Ahmed has been released on conditional bail in Dubai after being detained in connection with corruption cases and an extradition request from Bangladesh, multiple sources familiar with the matter have confirmed to Daily Waadaa.
A court in the United Arab Emirates granted Benazir’s bail application on July 27, and he was released from custody on July 30 after the necessary legal procedures were completed, according to sources in Dubai.
Daily Waadaa contacted an official at Bangladesh’s consulate in Dubai and a journalist based in the emirate. Both independently confirmed that Benazir had been released.
Officials at Bangladesh Police, however, declined to comment when contacted by Waadaa.
The bail does not allow Benazir Ahmed, one of Bangladesh’s most powerful police officials during Sheikh Hasina’s rule, to leave the UAE freely. According to sources familiar with the proceedings, the court has ordered that his passport remain in its custody and that he cannot leave the country without prior judicial permission.
Benazir, speaking to online news portal Asia Post after his release, said he had been freed on bail under a court order and was in good health. He declined to discuss the continuing legal proceedings.
Sources in Dubai said documents related to Bangladesh’s request for Benazir’s extradition, along with other legal materials, were placed before the court. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted him conditional bail.
UAE authorities have not publicly commented on the proceedings.
Benazir was arrested in Dubai earlier this year following legal moves by Bangladesh over corruption and money-laundering allegations against him. According to information previously communicated to Bangladeshi authorities, Dubai Police detained him with assistance from Interpol and informed Bangladesh of the development in a letter dated June 12.
The arrest followed a series of cases brought by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission accusing Ahmed of accumulating wealth beyond known sources of income and laundering money. Bangladeshi courts had issued arrest warrants against him as authorities sought international cooperation to bring him back to the country.
Benazir left Bangladesh in 2024 as allegations over his wealth began drawing intense public scrutiny and the ACC opened an investigation. The inquiry subsequently expanded into multiple cases against him.
Benazir served as inspector general of police from April 2020 until September 2022, making him the country’s top police officer during a period in which Bangladesh’s security establishment faced mounting allegations of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and other abuses.
Before becoming IGP, Benazir headed two of the country’s most powerful law-enforcement bodies. He served as commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police and later as director general of the Rapid Action Battalion.
In December 2021, the United States imposed sanctions on Benazir and several other serving and former RAB officials over what Washington described as serious human rights abuses linked to the force. At the time, Benazir was serving as Bangladesh’s police chief.
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