Former Air Force Chief Sheikh Abdul Hannan Arrested in Qatar, Says ACC

Former Air Force chief Air Vice Marshal Sheikh Abdul Hannan, an accused in cases filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), has been arrested in Qatar. ACC Deputy Director Aktarul Islam confirmed this information to journalists on Sunday (October 18).

However, the ACC has not yet been able to provide detailed information about when, how, and by which agency he was arrested. Saying that detailed information has not yet been received, the ACC secretary said it will be announced later at a press conference. As a result, one will have to wait for the press conference to know about the arrest process and what the next steps will be in bringing him back to the country.

Sheikh Abdul Hannan received his commission in the Bangladesh Air Force in 1984. He took charge as the 16th chief of the Air Force on June 12, 2021, and retired on June 11, 2024. A corruption case against an officer who held the highest post of the force, and his subsequent arrest abroad, has therefore generated widespread discussion.

The ACC said it was inquiring into allegations of illegal wealth acquisition and money laundering against Hannan. In the midst of the inquiry into the corruption allegations, on May 5, 2025, the court imposed a ban on foreign travel on Hannan, his wife Tahmida Begum and his son Sheikh Labib Hannan.

The next day, upon the ACC's application, an order was given to seize Hannan's land, house and three flats. At the same time, the court directed that his six bank accounts be frozen. From this series of orders for asset seizure and account freezing, it was becoming clear that the inquiry was not limited to just a preliminary stage.

On May 24 of the same year, an order was given to freeze a total of 38 bank accounts in the names of Hannan, his wife and his son. Then, on November 11, 2025, the court ordered the seizure of two flats in the name of Hannan's associate Sanjida Akter and the freezing of 10 bank accounts.

In the ACC's application, it was alleged at that time that the two flats had been purchased in Sanjida's name precisely to conceal illegally acquired wealth. This allegation spread the scope of the case beyond Hannan's family to his close associates as well.

On July 27, 2025, the ACC filed two cases against Sheikh Abdul Hannan and his wife Tahmida Begum on charges of acquiring illegal wealth and money laundering. ACC Deputy Director Md. Tanzir Hasib Sarkar filed the two cases as complainant at the commission's Integrated District Office, Dhaka-1.

Information was found in the ACC's inquiry that Hannan acquired assets worth Tk 32,851,506 that are inconsistent with his known income. Alongside this, allegations were brought of suspicious transactions worth Tk 276,366,700 in six bank accounts in his name.

Cases were filed against him under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Money Laundering Prevention Act. That is, the allegations are not limited to the acquisition of assets alone; the transaction and laundering aspects of that money are also part of the case.

In the other case, allegations were brought against Hannan's wife Tahmida Begum of acquiring assets worth Tk 19,190,304 beyond her known income. In addition, the ACC said it had found information about suspicious transactions worth Tk 11,819,923 in 32 bank accounts in her name.

It is alleged in the case that Tahmida acquired these assets with the assistance of her husband. In that case, Sheikh Abdul Hannan was also made an accused alongside Tahmida. As a result, Hannan is an accused in both cases.

It was also reported that in the ACC's inquiry, information was found about Hannan's business establishments and assets in various countries including Qatar and Dubai. In addition, the agency claimed to have found information about huge assets in Canada in the names of his children. It was said at the time that the detailed information on these assets would be verified during the investigation of the cases.

Now that news of the arrest in Qatar has come, questions have arisen as to how and when he will be brought back to Bangladesh and produced in the trial process of the cases. The ACC has said details will be announced later at a press conference — everyone's attention is now on that.