A Dhaka court has acquitted BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and other accused in the Niko corruption case.
Judge Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court 4 announced the verdict on Wednesday.
Earlier, on February 13, the court set the verdict date after concluding the defense hearing and arguments.
The accused pleaded not guilty during the hearing. Khaleda Zia, the main accused could not appear in court as she was out of the country for medical treatment and Advocate Aminul Islam represented her.
Then the ACC presented its arguments. They expected the maximum punishment for the accused.
Later, the defense lawyers finished presenting their arguments. Stating that the charges against the accused were not proven, they prayed for acquittal.
Earlier, the testimony of the case ended on February 5. Out of 68 witnesses, 39 testified in the case.
On December 9, 2007, the then Assistant Director of ACC Muhammad Mahbubul Alam filed a case against Khaleda Zia and five others at Tejgaon Police Station. The case alleged that the state suffered financial losses of about Tk 13,777 crore through an opaque agreement with the Canadian company Niko.
Bd-Pratidin English/ AM
