The US had informed the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington before the ban on former Army Chief General (retd) Aziz Ahmed was made public, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud said on Tuesday (May 21).
"However, the sanction has not been imposed under the US-promulgated visa policy but under a different act," said the minister at the 'Meet the Reporters' event organised by Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
The United States has sanctioned Aziz Ahmed for his alleged involvement in corruption. Aziz Ahmed and his family members were declared ineligible to enter the US in a statement published on the US State Department website on Monday local time (early Tuesday morning Bangladesh time).
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Aziz Ahmed is sanctioned under section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act due to his involvement in significant corruption. This sanction makes Aziz Ahmed and his family members generally ineligible for entry into the United States.
