Judgment in NIKO graft case against Khaleda Zia Feb 19

The Special Judge Court-4 of Dhaka on Thursday fixed February 19 to deliver the judgment of Niko graft case against former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and seven others.

Judge of the court Rabiul Alam fixed the date to deliver the judgment after concluding the examination and cross examination in the case.

Meanwhile, the lawyers of Begum Khaleda Zia have expressed their hope that she (Begum Khaleda Zia) would be acquitted from the charge in the verdict, reports BSS.

Advocate Zia Uddin Zia and Advocate Syed Joynul Abedin Mejba told the media that this case was initiated against Begum Khaleda Zia due to political vengeance. The state prosecution could not prove any allegations against Begum Khaleda Zia, so it is clear that the allegation was completely fake and baseless.

We hope that Begum Khaleda Zia would be acquitted from the charge, they added.

Md Mahbubul Alam, the then Assistant Director (AD) of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on December 9 in 2007, filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station against Begum Khaleda Zia for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.

On May 5, 2018, the ACC submitted a charge sheet against 11 persons including Begum Khaleda Zia to the court accusing them of causing a loss of Taka 13,777 crore to the state exchequer by signing the deal.