While amassing vast assets and laundering money abroad, former inspector general of police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed also engaged a group of people to take care of his illegally accumulated wealth and get other evil actions done.
AGM Sabbir alias Bikash Sabbir, Nazmus Sakib Jubayer, and Amzad Hossain Arju, a former marketing officer of Channel 1 which went off air in 2010, were some of those accomplices who assisted the ex-IGP in committing various misdeeds, including purchasing land and other properties in the names of Benazir and his family members at home and abroad, embezzling money by luring businessmen, and threatening to kill them in the crossfire.
Using the cohorts, the head of the police chief used to deal with other activities – branding of various projects of the police, their recruitments and transfers in exchange for money – keeping himself behind the screen.
According to an investigation of the Bangla national daily, Kaler Kantho, the three associates also accumulated huge wealth at home and abroad. They possess land and flats in their names or others. Besides, they have partnership businesses with Benazir’s wife and daughters.
Sources confirmed that Sabbir, Jubayer, and Arju left the country soon after the Kaler Kantho published a report under the headline “Benazirer Ghore Aladdiner Cherag” (Aladdin’s Lamp in Benazir’s House).
‘Cashier Sabbir’
Sabbir was widely known as the cashier of Benazir Ahmed, read a report of the national daily.
Born into a middle-class family, Sabbir grew up in Dhaka’s Purbo Goran area. After completing his education, he started his career as a teacher at Mastermind School in 2002.
After meeting a female teacher there, Sabbir married her. As her family members were UK citizens, Sabbir also migrated to the country. After obtaining citizenship there, he left his wife and married a female flight attendant. He has a son by his first wife and two children by his second wife.
While teaching at Mastermind, Sabbir became very close to BNP leader Mirza Abbas and his wife Afroza Abbas as he also gave private tuition to their son. He developed good relations with many top- and mid-level BNP leaders. Chhatra Dal’s former general secretary and now BNP central committee member Habibur Rashid Habib is his childhood friend.
On 9 December 2022, the Detective Branch (DB) of police apprehended Sabbir ahead of the BNP’s much-talked rally on charges of conspiracy to oust the government. Later, they were forced to release him as Benazir intervened in the issue.
Sources said Sabbir met the ex-IGP’s younger brother, Taslim Ahmed Munna, an assistant professor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, in London. Returning home, Sabbir developed a close relationship with Benazir and formed his own syndicate with Jubayer and Arju under the patronisation of the former police chief.
Sabbir used to collect money in extortion each month from the illegal gambling establishment at Mohammedan Sporting Club through its former director in-charge Lokman Hossain Bhuiyan. Later on, Sabbir was elected the director and the head of the club’s cricket committee under Benazir’s influence.
According to the Kaler Kantho investigation, Sabbir became known to everyone as the ex-IGP’s cashier. Meanwhile, Sabbir, Jubayer, and Arju became business partners of Benazir’s family.
The former police chief travelled to Thailand, Singapore, Dubai, the UK, the USA, Canada, Portugal, and other countries several times with them.
People close to Sabbir said Benazir built houses and set up business establishments in the Maldives, Dubai, London, and Canada with the help of Sabbir and Arju. The duo also helped him launder money abroad. It is said that the house where Arju’s wife and children live in Canada was bought with Benazir’s money.
The trio owns 13 companies
The Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, and other sources said Sabbir, Arju, and Jubayer have the ownership of 13 companies either in their names or others.
They have vast shares in Ekti Shishir Bindu, Rahil’s Media Ltd, LB Ltd, Connectia Ltd, Center for Renewable Energy Services Ltd, Ben Tech, ELCO Cables Ltd, AEXA Power Ltd, and Stealth Industries Ltd among other firms. Sabbir and Arju also have ownership of a private television channel in the country.
Sabbir owns a flat of 2,242 square feet in size at the Rancon Icon Towers in Gulshan. He has a 10-katha plot on Dhaka’s Goran, a vast land in Savar, and flats in Uttara, Gulshan, and Banani. Besides, he owns a huge house and brand cars in London. There is a rumour that he possesses a flat in Dubai.
Partnership business
Sabbir and Benazir’s wife along with children have joint investments in Ekti Shishir Bindu, a publishing company registered on 5 March 2019 in the address of Uttar Badda. On 14 January 2019, they forged the partnership.
As per the deed, Benazir’s wife Zeeshan Mirza owns 25% shares of the company, and their daughters Farheen Rishta Binte Benazir and Tahseen Raisa Binte Benazir have 25% shares each. Sabbir owns 15% shares, while Jubayer and one Anwar Hossain have 5% each.
On 14 March 2019, the Benazir family and Sabbir formed another company – Stealth Industries Ltd. Besides, they have a joint partnership in St Peter’s School of London.
Rahil’s Media Ltd
During the investigation, the Bangla daily found that Benazir directly intervened in giving work to Rahil’s Media Ltd. Although no family members of Benazir were named in the ownership of the company, he received a certain amount of money every month. Sabbir used to do various branding work for the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) through this organisation.
Sabbir is the chairman of Rahil’s Media, while his wife Niroma Khanam is the managing director and his sister Afsan-E-Jahan is the director.
Money embezzlement and intimidation
STR Enterprise Ltd Managing Director Md Abu Sadeq Choudhury said he supplied goods worth around Tk2 crore to Sabbir’s Solar Mini Grid Project in Kurigram in 2018 and 2019.
“I also invested Tk55 lakh as an owner of 5% shares here. After investment, they did not return any amount, not even paid dividends. When I wanted the money back, they threatened me in various ways.”
Sadeq said a group of six to seven people in plainclothes blindfolded and took him to an unknown place around 7am on 4 August 2021.
“They took signed cheques from me and I was forced to sign on a white paper so that I never asked Sabbir to return the money. They said, ‘Don’t you know that Sabbir is the Sir’s [Benazir] man.’”
He added that Sabbir and Arju were still threatening him.
Another businessman, Shafiqul Islam, said Sabbir and Arju lured him with profits and offered him to invest in their businesses in 2018.
“Benazir Ahmed was serving as the director general of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) then. They showed me several pictures taken with him on the mobile phone. I also invested Tk24.50 lakh in two instalments in good faith. Soon after the investment, their different identities were exposed. They started making excuses to return the money.”
Shafiqul said, “As I was creating pressure for money, they picked me up from Dhanmondi in 2021. At that time, they took my signature on a white paper.”
Wishing anonymity, another businessman said he invested around Tk50 lakh in the business entities of Sabbir and Arju. “Instead of returning the money, they threatened me several times with exerting the power of Benazir.”
Sabbir and Arju could not be contacted for comments as their phones were switched off.
