After seventeen years, a court has acquitted eight people, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, in the Niko corruption case.
The court of Dhaka Special Judge-4 Judge Rabiul Alam announced the verdict on Wednesday. Khaleda Zia's lawyer Aminul Islam confirmed the information.
After hearing the defense and presenting arguments, the court of Judge Rabiul Alam of Dhaka's Special Judge's Court-4 fixed the date for the verdict on Thursday.
The accused pleaded not guilty in their own defense. Khaleda Zia, the main accused in the case, could not appear in court as she was out of the country for medical treatment. Advocate Aminul Islam appeared on her behalf.
The testimony in the case ended on February 5. Advocate Aminul Islam also said that the testimony of 39 out of 68 witnesses in the case has been taken.
According to the case file, on December 9, 2007, Muhammad Mahbubul Alam, then assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), filed a case against Khaleda Zia and five others at Tejgaon Police Station. The case was filed on charges of causing financial loss to the state and corruption through an opaque contract with Canadian company Niko. Later, on May 5, 2018, a charge sheet was filed in court against 11 others, including Khaleda Zia. In it, they were accused of causing financial loss of about Tk 13,777 crore to the state.
