By Xinhua
Dhaka : The Bangladesh Supreme Court Thursday stayed a high court order, passed Sunday, granting bail to former prime minister Khaleda Zia in a corruption case.
A seven-member full court of the appellate division, headed by Chief Justice M. Ruhul Amin, passed the order cancelling Khaleda Zia’s bail.
The Supreme Court’s order clears the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the caretaker government’s move to go ahead with the corruption cases against Khaleda.
A day before the arrest of Khaleda and her younger son Arafat Rehman Koko, the ACC, on Sep 2, filed the case with a local police station accusing them of awarding a container handling contract to GATCO company without following the formal tender procedure by taking $314,000 in kickbacks and thus causing a loss of $140 million to the national exchequer.
Khaleda Zia, who is also the chairperson of former ruling party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was Bangladesh prime minister twice in two terms from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006.
Her elder son Tarique Rahman was arrested on March 8 on charges of extortion.
The current military-backed caretaker government, since taking office on Jan 12, has launched a crusade against corruption in Bangladesh.
Over 200 political leaders, including two former female prime ministers, former ministers and lawmakers were arrested on charges of corruption.
Special anti-corruption courts have already sentenced over a dozen of former ministers and lawmakers to different terms.