A Dhaka court today (September 17) allowed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to produce three foreign witnesses--one from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police--in Niko graft case.

Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka Special Judge's Court-9 at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj gave this order after hearing the petition in the case.

The three foreign officials are Debra LaPrevotte Griffith of FBI and Kelvin Duggan and Lloyd Schoepp of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Later, the judge fixed October 10 for the next hearing of the case.

Earlier on September 12, Attorney General AM Amin Uddin filed an application to produce the witnesses. Then the court fixed today for the hearing on the petition.

On that day, Judge Sheikh Hafizur recorded the statement of the then ACC assistant director Muhammad Mahbubul Alam.

Today was fixed for questioning Mahbubul Alam.

The ACC filed the case against five, including Begum Khaleda Zia, with Tejgaon police station on December 9 in 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.

The ACC on May 5 in 2008, submitted the charge-sheet against 11, including Khaleda Zia.

The ACC accused them of incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore of state exchequer by that deal.

BDST: 1645 HRS, SEP 17, 2023
MN/SMS