Niko officials traded bribes to work in Bangladesh's gas field: Canadian cops

Officials of the Canadian company Niko traded bribes to work in Bangladesh's gas field, said two Canadian policemen in their testimony at a Dhaka court today.

"The bribe money came to Bangladesh from Canada through Barbados," said officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Kevin Duggan and Lloyd Schwepp regarding the Niko graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and seven others.

For all latest news, follow The Business Standard's Google Channel

Their deposition was recorded by Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Special Judge Court 9 in Dhaka's Keraniganj at around 11:30am.
Lloyd testified first, and then faced cross-examination by the defence lawyers.

In his testimony, Lloyd Schwepp said, "Some officials from the then-government fuelled corruption at Niko [an oil and gas company]. We came to know about this corruption from the news. Niko Resources has also been charged with corruption in Canada for taking bribes."

The court was adjourned afterward and is set to resume Tuesday. It will record Kevin's testimony then.  

The officers arrived in Dhaka on Saturday night to provide their testimony.

Earlier on 19 October, the same special court in Dhaka issued a summon and fixed 30 October for testimony, after the defendants' lawyers cross-examined the plaintiff on behalf of Khaleda Zia and other accused.

On 17 September, the court allowed three foreigners, including a former FBI agent, to testify in the Niko graft case against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and four others.

The other person requested by ACC to produce as witnesses besides two Canadian policemen was former FBI agent Debra LaPrevotte Griffith.

Earlier on 19 March this year, the Dhaka Special Court-9 framed charges against Khaleda Zia and seven others in the graft case.

The other accused are- Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, principal secretary to the then prime minister, Khondkar Shahidul Islam, former secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, CM Eusuf Hossain, former senior assistant secretary, Mir Moinul Hossain, former director of Bapex, MA Shafiqur Rahman, former secretary of Bapex, MAAH Selim, former Bagerhat MP, Kashem Sharif, vice president of Niko South Asia and businessman Gias Uddin Al Mamun.

The anti-graft body filed the case against five, including Khaleda Zia, with Tejgaon police station on 9 December 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.

The ACC submitted the charge sheet against 11 people, including Khaleda Zia on 5 May 2008. The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Tk130 billion (13,000 crore) of state exchequer by signing that deal.