A Dhaka court has acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and seven others of corruption charges related to the Niko gas exploration and extraction deal.
The verdict was delivered on Wednesday by Judge Rabiul Alam of Dhaka Special Judge’s Court No. 4.
Khaleda, a former prime minister, is currently in London receiving medical treatment.
The seven others cleared of charges are Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former principal secretary to the prime minister; Khandaker Shahidul Islam, former acting secretary of the energy and mineral resources ministry; CM Yusuf Hussain, former senior assistant secretary; Meer Moynul Haque, former senior general manager of BAPEX; businessman Gias Uddin Al Mamun; Salim Bhuiyan, chairman of International Travel Corporation; and Kashem Sharif, vice president (South Asia) of Niko Resources Bangladesh Ltd.
Three other individuals—BNP Standing Committee member Moudud Ahmed, former state minister for energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain, and former BAPEX secretary Barrister Moudud Ahmed—were exempted from the case following their deaths.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) initially filed the Niko graft case on December 9, 2007, during Khaleda’s arrest under the military-backed caretaker government.
In 2008, charges were formally filed against 11 individuals, including Khaleda, accusing them of causing a Tk 137 billion loss to the state by awarding a gas exploration contract to the Canadian oil and gas company, Niko Resources.
The court officially indicted Khaleda and seven others on March 19, marking the start of the trial 16 years after the ACC first filed the case. During the proceedings, 39 out of 68 witnesses provided testimony.
