Bangladesh's ex-premier gets bail in South Korean frigate deal case

DHAKA, Aug 30 (AFP) - Bangladesh's main opposition leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed appeared in a court Saturday and was granted bail in a graft case over the purchase of a South Korean naval frigate when she was prime minister.

Sheikh Hasina accompanied by party leaders and hundreds of supporters appeared before Dhaka Metropolitan Session Judge Matiur Rahman, who granted her bail for 100,000 takas (1,724 dollars).

BizVantage – All the Net, all the time, just for you.
Try the free, no-hassle 6 month trial!

"There has been no wrongdoing in the deal and it is a (politically) motivated case," Sheikh Hasina, chief of the Awami League party, told reporters after leaving the court.

"Rather, this government is ruining the country by resorting to corrupt practices."

Sheikh Hasina and five other people, including former navy chief Nurul Islam, have been charged in the case and could each go to prison for up to five years if convicted.

The Bureau of Anti-Corruption alleges Bangladesh lost more than five billion taka (88 million dollars) through the purchase of the DW 2000H frigate from South Korea's Daewoo Corporation during Sheikh Hasina's 1996-2001 tenure as prime minister.

The frigate was delivered six months ahead of schedule before Sheikh Hasina lost power to her arch-rival Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in October 2001 elections. But in February the following year, authorities said the ship had irregularities and decommissioned it from the navy.

The anti-corruption bureau says nine firms bid for the frigate with a Chinese company offering the lowest price at 68 million dollars.

Daewoo's bid ranked fourth lowest at 99.97 million dollars, and Sheikh Hasina's rivals claimed the South Korean firm did not have the expertise to build the battleship.

It is one of several cases brought against Sheikh Hasina since she lost power. In March 2002 a murder case was filed against her and three others 19 years after two people were killed in police firing.

Zia was also targeted by graft cases when she was in opposition, but they were quashed after she returned to power in 2001.

nq/sct/br

Bangladesh-graft-politics-SKorea