Gatco graft case: Indictment hearing against Khaleda

Court Correspondent :

A Dhaka court has scheduled August 11 for the indictment hearing in the Gatco graft case involving BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and 14 others.
Judge Ali Hossain of the Special Judge Court-3 in Dhaka granted a time extension to the defense lawyers, postponing the charge framing hearing originally set for Wednesday.
Due to health reasons, Begum Khaleda Zia, the main accused, was unable to appear in court, prompting her counsel to request a delay. The case, filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on September 2, 2007, alleges corruption in a contract awarded to Global Agro Trade Private Co Limited (Gatco) for managing containers at inland container depots in Dhaka and Chattogram. The ACC claims that this contract caused a loss of Taka 14.56 crore to the national exchequer.
Initially, a charge sheet was submitted against 24 individuals on May 13, 2008. Since then, eight of the accused, including Khaleda Zia’s son Arafat Rahman Koko and former minister Saifur Rahman, have passed away, while another accused, Matiur Rahman Nizami, was executed following a conviction in a crime against humanity case. These individuals’ names have been removed
from the case, leaving 15 defendants to face the charges.
The remaining 14 accused include prominent figures such as Dr. Kandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, and others associated with Gatco and its operations.