Ex-Bangladesh air chief Sheikh Abdul Hannan detained in Qatar on Interpol alert in graft case

Air Chief Marshal (retd) Sheikh Abdul Hannan, the 16th chief of the Bangladesh Air Force, has been detained by authorities in Qatar. He is accused of amassing assets many times higher than his known sources of income, laundering money and making suspicious transactions worth crores of rupees through bank accounts.

Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has officially confirmed the detention, which followed information from Interpol. Qatar's security agencies acted on 15 October. The development is being seen as significant amid international action against corrupt officials who fled their countries.

ACC Deputy Director Mohammad Akhtarul Islam said an investigation against Hannan had been under way since last year. On the strength of evidence found, cases were registered against him in July under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Money Laundering Prevention Act.

The investigation found unaccounted and benami assets worth about 32.8 million Bangladeshi taka beyond his official income. Suspicious and illegal transactions of 276.3 million taka (about 27 crore 63 lakh taka) were also found in six bank accounts in his name. Investigators initially suspect that such a large sum was used for money laundering.

The case is not limited to Hannan and extends to his family. His wife has been named a co-accused. She is alleged to have misused her husband's position to accumulate unaccounted assets of 19.1 million taka in her name. Suspicious transactions of about 11.8 million taka were also made through 32 bank accounts in her name.

Investigators are also looking at Hannan's assets abroad. He is found to have bought benami property worth crores in countries such as Canada and Dubai. Details of luxury properties registered in his children's names in three different countries have also reached international investigating agencies.

The Dhaka High Court had earlier ordered strict action. Hearing an ACC petition in March, it directed that the income tax documents of Hannan and his wife be seized. Two luxury apartments bought with corruption money were seized, and all his bank accounts were frozen with transactions barred. His troubles mounted after these decisions, and he had gone abroad to avoid legal action.

Hannan joined the Bangladesh Air Force in 1984 as a general duty pilot. Over a service of nearly four decades he held several key posts and became the 16th air chief on 12 June 2021. He retired from the post on 11 June 2024 after three years.

Separately, former Bangladesh Navy chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan also faces serious corruption allegations and is reported to be absconding abroad.