All eight accused, including BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia, have been acquitted in the Niko corruption case. Judge Md. Rabiul Alam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 announced the verdict after 11 am on Wednesday.
Khaleda Zia is currently in London for medical treatment. Her lawyer Mohammad Ziauddin Zia was present in the court today on her behalf. The court observed that the case was filed to harass her politically.
Apart from Khaleda Zia, the other seven accused in this case were Giasuddin Al Mamun, a close friend of BNP acting chairperson Tarique Rahman, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, former acting secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Selim Bhuiyan, former president of Dhaka Club, CM Yusuf Hossain, former chief secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Mir Mainul Haque, former general manager of Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex), and Kashem Sharif, former president of Niko Resources (Bangladesh) Limited.
