Khaleda Zia was implicated in Niko graft case to tarnish her reputation: Court

The Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 in the full text of its judgment in Niko graft case has observed that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia was implicated in the case only to tarnish her reputation.

Dhaka Special Judge Court-4 Judge Rabiul Alam on 19 February pronounced the judgment, acquitting BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and seven others of the charges in the Niko graft case. 

The court today (2 March) released the 133-page full text of the judgment.

The court in its observation said the agreement was made with Niko during the time of the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

"Two separate cases were filed with Tejgaon Police Station in 2007 against Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia regarding Niko's corruption. The case against Sheikh Hasina, however, was dismissed by the High Court in 2010. The case against Begum Khaleda Zia, on the other hand, went on for long 18 years. Begum Khaleda Zia and other accused were implicated only for political reasons and to tarnish their reputations," the court said in its observation.

The full text further said that during the tenure of the then prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a Frame work of Understanding (FOU) for the study for the development and production of hydrocarbon from the non producing marginal gas fields of Chattak, Feni and Kamta was signed between Bapex and Niko Resources Bangladesh Ltd on 23 August 1999.  

"Former prime minister Khaleda Zia and the other defendants did not have any malicious intention in executing the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) and the defendants did not commit any corruption or abuse of power or criminal misconduct or criminal breach of trust or assist each other in any crime by inciting each other," the judgment said.

In the observation, the judge also mentioned that although this was a case of Tejgaon Police Station, the accused Selim Bhuiyan was taken on a four-day remand and kept in Gulshan and Cantonment Police Stations and tortured. 

"At one stage of physical and mental torture during the remand, the accused Selim Bhuiyan fell ill and was admitted to Rajarbagh Central Police Hospital for treatment. After the four-day remand, a forced confession was taken from the accused Selim Bhuiyan, which has already been considered not true and voluntary. Above all, the court believes that former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia and other accused have been implicated in this case only for political reasons and to tarnish their reputations," it added.

Besides Khaleda Zia, the others people acquitted in the case are the then Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Khandaker Shahidul Islam, former Senior Assistant Secretary CM Yusuf Hossain, former General Manager of Bapex Mir Mainul Haque, businessman Gias Uddin Al Mamun, Chairman of International Travel Corporation Selim Bhuiyan and Vice President of South Asia Affairs of Niko Kashem Sharif.

On 9 December 2007, the then Assistant Director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Muhammad Mahbubul Alam filed the case against Khaleda Zia and five others with Tejgaon Police Station on charges of rendering financial loss of the state through an agreement with Canadian company Niko. 

Then, on 5 May 2018, a charge sheet was filed in the court against Khaleda Zia and 11 others. They were accused of causing financial losses of about Tk13,777 crore of the state. On 19 March 2023, Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka's 9th (Temporary) Special Judge's Court located at the Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj framed the charges against the accused.

However, BNP Standing Committee Member Barrister Moudud Ahmed, former State Minister for Energy AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former Secretary of Bapex Md. Shafiur Rahman were discharged from the case due to their death.

During the trial of this case, 39 out of 68 witnesses testified.