The verdict in the Niko corruption case involving BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and eight others is set to be announced today. The ruling will be delivered by Judge Md. Rabiul Alam of Dhaka’s Special Judge Court-4 at 11 a.m., according to bench assistant Md. Belal Hossain.

Currently undergoing medical treatment in London, Khaleda Zia will be represented in court by her lawyer, Mohammad Ziauddin Zia. Following closing arguments, the judge scheduled the verdict for today. Prior to this, the court recorded the testimonies of 39 witnesses, including the plaintiff.

The accused include BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman’s close associate Giasuddin Al Mamun, former acting secretary of the Ministry of Energy Khandaker Shahidul Islam, ex-president of Dhaka Club Selim Bhuiyan, former senior assistant secretary CM Yusuf Hossain, former principal secretary Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, former general manager of BAPEX Mir Moynul Haque, and former president of Niko Resources (Bangladesh) Ltd., Kashem Sharif.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case on December 9, 2007, accusing Khaleda Zia and others of abusing power during her tenure as Prime Minister from 2001 to 2006 by awarding gas exploration and extraction contracts to the Canadian company Niko. It was alleged that the defendants caused a loss of approximately Tk 13,777 crore to the state by handing over three gas fields to Niko, claiming they were abandoned.

On May 5, 2008, the ACC submitted a charge sheet against Khaleda Zia and nine others. Subsequently, on March 28, 2022, Kashem Sharif was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment for accepting bribes from Niko. Later, on March 19, 2023, the court framed charges against the remaining eight accused.

The names of former State Minister for Energy and BNP leader AKM Mosharraf Hossain and former Law Minister Moudud Ahmed were dropped from the case following their deaths.