By Xinhua
Dhaka : The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (BACC) Tuesday filed a case against former prime minister Khaleda Zia for allegedly awarding a contract to a foreign firm causing huge loss to the exchequer.
The BACC alleged that the country’s exchequer incurred a loss of 1.59 billion taka ($22.7 million) in the award of the contract of production management and maintenance of Barapukuria Coal Mine in the northwest to the firm at the highest bidding.
The ACC also sued eight former ministers of Khaleda’s government, including former finance and planning minister Saifur Rahman, former local government minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan and former industry minister Motiur Rahman Nizami.
BACC assistant director Samsul Alam filed the first information report (FIR) with Shahbag police station in capital Dhaka Tuesday afternoon accusing them of misusing power either to benefit themselves or benefiting others in awarding the contract.
This is the third case filed by the commission against Khaleda Zia. Earlier, on Sept 2, 2007, she and her younger son Arafat Rahman Koko were sued in connection with a graft case.
In December the same year BACC filed a second case against Khaleda for awarding a gas exploration deal to Niko, a Canadian company.
Khaleda, who ruled the country as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006, was arrested from her Dhaka Cantonment house along with her youngest son on Sep 3 last year. Her eldest son Tarique Rahman was also arrested for his alleged links with extortion and corruption cases.