DHAKA: The hearing of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) report, clearing all the defendants, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from the charges in a Bangabandhu Novo Theatre project scam case, has been finished on Thursday.

After the hearing, Acting Metropolitan Sessions Judge Imrul Kayes said the order would be announced later in this regard.

Earlier on Tuesday, ACC recommended exempting all the defendants from the Novo     Theatre scam case as it did not find any evidences against Hasina and others in its 13 years’ investigation into the case.

The case was filed against Sheikh Hasina, the then opposition leader in the Jatiya Sangsad, during the reign of BNP-Jamaat government in 2002.

Recently, ACC deputy-commissioner Manjur Morshed filed the final report of the case in its recording division.

Wishing anonymity, an ACC official told banglanews that the then Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), now ACC, filed the case against Sheikh Hasina being motivated by political interests.

The then ACB Inspector Mohammad Ibrahim and Anti-Corruption Officer M Mizanul Islam filed three cases against Sheikh Hasina and ECNEC members with Tejgaon Thana in the city on March 27 of 2002.

Of the other defendants, former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria and education minister AHK Sadeque passed away.

The other defendants Tofail Ahmed, Motia Chowdhury, and Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir were cleared from the court, sources added.

BDST: 1511 HRS, FEB 05, 2015