Khaleda Zia is charged in new graft case

BY ANISUR RAHMAN

Dhaka

Oct. 6: Weeks after she was let out from jail on bail, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has been charged by Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) in a fresh graft case for illegally contracting out a major coal mine to a Chinese firm.

Khaleda has been charged along with her 10 former ministerial colleagues in a case filed before a magistrate court in Dhaka on Sunday.

In the charges filed, it has been alleged that she awarded the mining contract of a major north-western coal mine to China’s National Machinery Import and Export Corporation (CMC) in 2005, causing a loss of almost Taka 159 crore to the public exchequer.

Though the Chinese company was the highest bidder among three other foreign contenders, the consortium got the contract without any re-tender, according to the charge sheet which named 34 people as prosecution witnesses and said that charges brought against the accused were primarily proven in the ACC investigations.

This was the third case in which the former Premier has been formally charged by the commission. She is also facing several other graft charges which are under investigation. If convicted she could face life imprisonment for criminal breach of trust and seven years for criminal misconduct.

The development came as a negotiation was underway between the interim government in emergency ruled Bangladesh and the two major parties, Ms Zia’s BNP and her arch rival ex-Premier Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League for their participation in the general elections. The election commission, however, said there was no bar on Zia and Hasina, also accused in a number of graft cases, in contesting the general elections . —PTI