 | This article needs to be updated.(November 2024) |
The Zia Charitable Trust corruption case refers an ongoing corruption case in Bangladesh that relates to corruption over the misuse of funds in a charity named after former President Ziaur Rahman. Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of Bangladesh is one of the accused in the case. [1] [2]
The trust was named after the husband of Khaleda Zia, former president, Ziaur Rahman. President Zia was assassinated in 1981. [3] The former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has a "bitter" rivalry with the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. [4]
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Bangladesh Anti Corruption Commission filed the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case in Tejgaon Police Station on 8 August 2011. [5] The case accused four people including former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. The other accused are Harris Chowdhury, former political secretary to Khaleda Zia, Ziaul Islam Munna, incumbent acting director of naval security and traffic in Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, and the personal assistant to former mayor of Dhaka, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Monirul Islam Khan. [6] The Anti Corruption commission filed another related case on 3 July 2008 over corruption in the Zia Orphanage. [7] There was six accused in this case including Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman. The case accused them embezzling 21 million taka from the trust. [8]
On 24 February 2015 an arrest warrant was issued by the court against Khaleda Zia in the case. [3] The arrest warrant was issued after she skipped a number of court dates. She surrendered to the court and received bail on 5 April 2015. The prosecution did not oppose her bail petition. [9] The Anti corruption commission took the charges to court on 16 January 2012. [10] Khaleda Zia has filled a petition with the High Court to halt the proceedings of the Zia trust and orphanage case. [11] Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman are on bail in the case. Tarique has been staying in London since 2008. [12]
After 10 years of ongoing trial On 8 February 2018 Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman as per court verdict, were jailed for 5 and 10 years respectively due to involvement in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. While Tarique was on exile, Khaleda would be imprisoned on old Dhaka Central Jail on Nazimuddin Road. In protest BNP held nationwide demonstrations, which were foiled by well prepared police force across the nation. A large number of BNP activists were arrested during clashes with the police. [13] The verdict also jailed Quazi Salimul Haq Kamal, Kamal Uddin Siddique, Mominur Rahman, and Sharfuddin Ahmed. [14]
On 29 October 2018 BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others including Harris Chowdhury, former political secretary to the then PM Khaleda as per supreme court verdict were sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment in Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. Khaleda and the other convicts were also fined Tk 10 lakh each, in default of which they will have to serve six more months in jail, according to the verdict. This is the highest punishment under the existing law. The court also ordered to attach in favour of the state the 42 kathas of land which was purchased under the name of the trust. [15]
| This article needs to be updated.(November 2024) |
On 6 August 2024, Khaleda Zia was released, a day after her archrival Sheikh Hasina was ousted and fled to India. [16] [17]
On 11 November 2024, Appellate Division of the Supreme Court stayed the High Court verdict that doubled Khaleda Zia's jail term to 10 years in the Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case. [18] The Appellate Division also allowed Khaleda to file two appeals with it challenging the HC verdict. [19]
Begum Khaleda Zia is a Bangladeshi politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2001 to 2006. She was the first female prime minister of Bangladesh and second female prime minister in the Muslim world, after Benazir Bhutto. She is the widow of one of the former President of Bangladesh, Ziaur Rahman. She is the chairperson and leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since 1984, which was founded by her husband in 1978.
Tarique Rahman, also known as Tarique Zia, is a Bangladeshi politician and businessman, who is the acting chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since February 2018. He is the eldest son of former president Ziaur Rahman and former two-time prime minister Khaleda Zia. He is widely seen as a powerful figure in BNP and held several high-profile positions within the party, including the post of senior joint secretary general. In 2018, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for organizing the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack.
Lutfozzaman Babar is Bangladeshi former politician, who served as the State Minister of Home Affairs in the Khaleda Zia Cabinet from 2001 to 2006, as a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Mohammad Mosaddak Ali, also known as Phalu, is a Bangladeshi entrepreneur and a politician who was a former parliamentarian from Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He served as the political secretary to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Begum Khaleda Zia between 2001 and 2004. He was responsible for building special relations and partnership for development between the government and the private sector that is interested in investing in new and highly potential industrial sectors, and introducing new products and services to local industries, at a time when Bangladesh's economic growth accelerated. In 2003, Ali launched Bangladesh's first automation-based private satellite television station NTV. He also founded another satellite channel RTV and Bengali daily newspaper Amar Desh. He is the founding President of Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO).
Nazmul Huda was a Bangladeshi barrister and politician. He served as the minister of information (1991–1996) and the minister of communications (2001–2006) of the government of Bangladesh. He was a four-term Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Dhaka-1 constituency. He was a member of Bangladesh Nationalist Party since its inception until 2012 when he left the party as its vice chairman.
Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury is a standing committee member of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and former minister of commerce. He hails from a political family in Chittagong and headed the city's BNP unit momentarily to organize the party.
Abul Harris Chowdhury was a Bangladeshi and politician who served as the Political Secretary of Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia. He was the Joint Secretary General of Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Chowdhury was sentenced to 65 years in total and a life term in prison in absentia for allegedly committing multiple crimes. His party alleges the charges were falsely given, along with those against Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman, and many other senior party members.
Giasuddin Al Mamun is a Bangladeshi businessman. He is a friend and business partner of the politician Tarique Rahman. Mamun has been in jail since 2007 due to his convictions on numerous corruption cases. He has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment on 3 cases, 2 of which are for corruption. He is also accused in 20 other cases relating to extortion, corruption, illegal arms possession, and tax evasion.
Kazi Md. Ejarul Haque Akondo is a Bangladeshi justice of the High Court Division. He was appointed in 2012.
Qazi Saleemul Huq is a Bangladesh Nationalist Party politician and a former Jatiya Sangsad member representing the Magura-2 constituency during 1994–1996 and 2001–2006. He is the founder of GQ Group of Industries, a manufacturing based organization in Bangladesh.
Syeda Iqbal Mand Banu is a social worker and mother-in-law of Tarique Rahman. She was awarded the Independence Day Award in 1995. She has published poetry books she and does watercolor paintings.
Md. Miftah Uddin Choudhury is a judge on the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court.
A. N. M. Bashir Ullah is a Bangladesh justice of Bangladesh High Court.
Md Akhtaruzzaman is a justice on the High Court Division of Bangladesh Supreme Court. He was the trial judge in the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case against former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
Shahidul Karim is a justice of the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Md Mostafizur Rahman is a justice of the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Md. Kamrul Hossain Molla is a Justice of the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
S. M. Kuddus Zaman is a Justice of the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court.
Shahed Nuruddin is a Justice of the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court. He was the trial judge in the 2004 Dhaka grenade attack case.
Dandy Dyeing Limited is a dyeing company owned by the family of former prime minister of Bangladesh Khaleda Zia. The company and former prime minister Khaleda Zia, her sons, Tarique Rahman, and Arafat Rahman, were sued by Sonali Bank on charges of defaulting on a loan. According to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina the company owed 400 million BDT to state-owned Sonali Bank.