U.S. State Department Blacklists Bangladesh’s Ex-Army Chief General Aziz Ahmed For Significant Corruption

The United States on Monday (May 20) put Bangladesh’s former army chief on a visa blacklist over accusations of accepting bribes and improperly awarding military contracts to benefit his family.

The State Department said that retired general Aziz Ahmed and his immediate family members would be ineligible to enter the United States under a law that targets corruption.

“His actions have contributed to the undermining of Bangladesh’s democratic institutions and the public’s faith in public institutions and processes,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

Today's announcement that former Bangladeshi General Aziz Ahmed is generally ineligible for entry into the United States reaffirms the U.S. commitment to work with our Bangladeshi partners to promote accountability for corrupt public officials.

— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) May 20, 2024

Ahmed was the subject of an Al Jazeera documentary in 2021 that alleged that he had cashed in on his position to live luxuriously and that he had helped two brothers flee overseas to escape Bangladeshi law enforcement.

The State Department said that Ahmed helped “his brother evade accountability for criminal activity in Bangladesh.”

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

Ahmed, who retired in 2021, rose in the ranks as an ally of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who was sworn in this year for a fifth term after an election boycotted by the opposition.

The United States has generally had friendly relations with Bangladesh, including on security, with Hasina seen as a partner on a range of issues including shared concerns about Islamist extremism.

But Washington has been critical of what it sees as an undemocratic turn in Bangladesh and has previously restricted visas to Bangladeshis accused of undermining elections.

© 2024, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.