By IANS
Dhaka : A court here Thursday sent to jail Arafat Rahman Koko, businessman son of former Bangladesh prime minister Khaleda Zia, charging him with corruption and influencing decisions of his mother’s government pertaining to his business deals.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) head Zia herself was sent to jail last Monday. Her elder politician-brother Tareq Rahman is already in jail since March 7.
Koko was remanded in police custody for seven days to facilitate interrogation last Monday. But he was taken to the court after three days and Metropolitan Magistrate Muhammad Saleh Uddin passed the order at about 2.30 p.m., Star Online reported.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed a case at the Tejgaon police station against the former prime minister, her son and 11 others a day before their arrest.
ACC charged them with violating tender conditions in appointing Global Agro Trade (Private) Company Ltd (GATCO), an indenting house, for container handling at the Dhaka Inland Container Depot (ICD) and the Chittagong Port ICD yard despite lacking experience and skills.
The co-accused in the case are ex-chairmen of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Commodore (retd) Zulfiqur Ali and A.M.M. Shahadat Hossain; ex-director (transport) of CPA A.M. Sanwar Hossain; former chief finance and accounts officer Ahmed Abul Qashem; former director Luthful Kabir; Ismail Hossain Simon, son of former shipping minister and BNP leader, late Col (retd) Akbar Hossain; GATCO directors Syed Galib Ahmed, Syed Tanveer Ahmed and A.K.M. Musa Kajol, Akbar’s wife Jahanara Ansar and one Ehsan Yusuf.
In the case, it is alleged that violating conditions, the former prime minister and her son influenced the tender process and the CPA officials helped GATCO win the tender although a three-member tender evaluation committee of the port termed GATCO unfit for the work.