DHAKA, 10 April 2007 — A Bangladeshi businessman filed an extortion case yesterday against former Prime Minister Hasina Wajed, police said in the capital, Dhaka.
Tajul Islam Faruq, the chief executive officer of Westmont Bangladesh Limited, a Malaysian-owned company, brought the charges against Hasina and her private secretary, police officer Jane Alam told AFP.
“In the case, he accused her of taking 30 million taka ($434,000) as a favor for approving a power plant in northern Bangladesh,” he said.
“Faruq said he handed over the money in cash to her at her official residence in 1998,” he said. “We will now investigate the charges and will issue an arrest warrant against her if the charges are proved,” he added.
The accusation came just days after Hasina, now vacationing in the United States, blasted the country’s military-backed government for delaying national elections.
Hasina, president of the main opposition Awami League party and also the leader of a 19-party opposition alliance, would be barred from contesting the general elections if a court found her guilty of such charges.
Police said the charges would be non-bailable under the country’s emergency power rules. The case was filed under sections 385, 386, 387 and 109 of the Bangladesh Penal Code (BPC). If the allegation is proved, arrest warrant can be issued against her and she can be sentenced to five years in jail.
The army-backed interim government, which imposed a state of emergency in January, has since arrested some 160 people for corruption and extortion.
They include the eldest son of Khaleda Zia, the most recent past prime minister as well as dozens of former ministers and political leaders for corruption and extortion. Nearly 50 top-ranking politicians and prominent people have been arrested since the government launched an anti-graft crackdown in February.
