Bangladesh Court Sentences ex-PM Khaleda Zia to 5 Years in Jail in Corruption Case

A Bangladesh court on Thursday sentenced former prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia to five years in jail in a corruption case.

Dhaka, Feb 8: A Bangladesh court on Thursday sentenced former prime minister and opposition leader Khaleda Zia to five years in jail in a corruption case. The court sentenced her after convicting her of embezzling money meant for an orphanage. Zia appeared before the Dhaka court in connection with the Zia Orphanage Trust and Zia Charitable Trust corruption cases.

In July 2008, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had filed the case against six people, including Khaleda and her eldest son Tarique Rahman, for allegedly misusing Tk2.1 crore that had come as grants for orphans from a foreign bank.

The ACC had filed the Zia Charitable graft Trust case with Tejgaon police station on August 8, 2011, accusing Khaleda, her son Tarique Rahman and four others.

Three years later, in addition to this, the anti-graft body accused the BNP leader and three others of misappropriating Tk3.15 crore from the Zia Charitable Trust Fund, the report said.