Khaleda Zia, 7 Others Acquitted In Niko Graft Case

A Dhaka court on Wednesday acquitted former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in the Niko graft case, effectively discharging her from all lawsuits.

Judge Md Rabiul Alam of the Special Judge's Court-4 acquitted seven others accused in the Niko graft case, saying it was filed only to harass political opponents as the plaintiff failed prove the accusations brought.

Khaleda is currently in London for medical treatment, and her lawyer Advocate Aminul Islam represented her during court proceedings on Wednesday morning.

On 9 December 2007, Anti-Corruption Commission Assistant Director Muhammad Mahbubul Alam filed the case against 11 individuals linked to the 2001-2006 BNP government.

As per the case statement, the then prime minister Khaleda Zia and her close associates illegally awarded a contract to Canadian energy company Niko to explore and extract natural gas. The illegal contract bypassing competition, incurred Tk13,777 crore loss for the state, it was alleged.