US blacklists ex-Bangladesh general in Al Jazeera investigation | Investigative News

Former army chief Aziz Ahmed, subject of “All the Prime Minister’s Men,” was “involved in significant corruption,” the U.S. State Department said.

The United States has blacklisted Bangladesh’s former chief of staff, retired Gen. Aziz Ahmed, for his involvement in “serious corruption.”

Ahmed was the subject of Al Jazeera’s “All the Prime Minister’s Men” investigation in 2021, which looked at how a criminal gang led by the general’s brother, Haris Ahmed, used police and paramilitary units to kidnap rivals and make millions in bribes.

“Aziz Ahmed engaged in significant corruption by interfering in public processes while helping his brother evade responsibility for criminal activities in Bangladesh,” the US State Department said in a statement on Monday.

“Aziz also worked closely with his brother to ensure the improper awarding of military contracts and accepted bribes in exchange for government positions for his personal benefit,” it added.

Due to the blacklist, Aziz and his immediate family members are ineligible to enter the United States.

Today’s announcement that former Bangladeshi general Aziz Ahmed will be barred from entering the United States reaffirms the U.S. commitment to working with our Bangladeshi partners to promote accountability of corrupt state officials.

—Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) May 20, 2024

All the Prime Minister’s men

In February 2021, Al Jazeera’s investigative unit revealed how the general’s brothers, Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed, fled Bangladesh to Hungary and Malaysia, respectively, after being found guilty in the 1996 assassination of Mustafizur Rahman Mustafa to have been a member of a rival political party.

While Haris Ahmed and Anis Ahmed lived outside Bangladesh, their brother worked his way up in the Bangladesh army and became a close confidant of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the leader of the ruling Awami League.

The All the Prime Minister’s Men discovered that Aziz Ahmed had remained in contact with his brothers even though they were wanted by Bangladeshi law enforcement authorities.

Leaked documents obtained by Al Jazeera revealed how the general used military officers to help Haris Ahmed create a false identity, which was then used to set up businesses in Europe and buy properties around the world.

In secretly recorded meetings, Haris Ahmed bragged about profiting from military contracts and using his brother’s power as army chief to extort bribes.

Aziz Ahmed retired as chief of staff of the Bangladesh Army six months after the Al Jazeera investigation was published. At the time, local media reported that he had denied the allegations.

After the broadcast of “All the Prime Minister’s Men,” Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry released a statement calling Al Jazeera’s findings a “smear campaign” orchestrated by government opponents based abroad.

It rejected Haris Ahmed’s statements and said the brother of former army chief Ahmed had no ties to the prime minister or any other state institution.