DHAKA, July 24, 2024 (BSS) - A court here has adjourned the hearing of the Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and seven others, till August 20.
 
Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka's 9th special judge court passed the order this noon.
 
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case against five including Begum Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon Police Station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.
 
The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge sheet against 11 people including Khaleda Zia. The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore of state exchequer by that deal.
 
The other accused in the case are-, Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, CM Eusuf Hossain, Mir Moinul Haque, Gias Uddin Al Mamun, MAH Selim Bhuiyan and Kashem Sharif.
 
The court on March 19, 2023, framed charges against the eight, dropping the names of Moudud Ahmed, AKM Mosharraf Hossain, and Md Shafiur Rahman as they died of natural causes already.