Ex-Bangladesh PM Khaleda Zia sentenced to 7 years over graft case

Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khalida Zia and three others were sentenced to seven years in prison on Monday in connection with Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

A Dhaka court pronounced the verdict almost seven years after the case was filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 2011, reported Dhaka Tribune. A fine of 10 lakh taka each has also been imposed on the accused, who will have to serve an additional six more months in prison if they fail to pay it.

The other three accused in the case are, Khaleda's former political secretary Harris Chowdhury; Harris' assistant private secretary Ziaul Islam Munna; and Monirul Islam Khan, the assistant private secretary to former Dhaka city mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka.

Zia, chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and the three other accused misused their positions to raise funds for Zia Charitable Trust from unknown sources, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Zia is already serving five years in jail after being found guilty in Zia Orphanage Trust graft case. The case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission in 2008 pertains to alleged misappropriation of funds amounting to 2.1 crore taka that were said to have come from a foreign bank in the form of grants for orphans.

The 73-year-old leader has served as Bangladesh Prime Minister for two terms from 1991 to 1996 and from 2001 to 2006.