A High Court division bench in Bangladesh has declared a Canadian oil explorer's deals with two state-owned enterprises illegal.
The High Court division bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam on Thursday delivered the verdict.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by a lawyer for the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (BAPEX) and Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla.
Canadian company Niko Resources signed the deals - joint venture agreement and gas purchase and sales agreement (GPSA) - with BAPEX and Petrobangla in 2003 and 2006 respectively.
A total of 11 people, including Bangladeshi Ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, were charged in 2008 for allegedly causing a loss of 137 billion taka (1.76 billion U.S. dollars) to the state exchequer by awarding gas exploration job to Niko.
Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission filed the Niko graft case in 2007 after Khaleda Zia, also chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was arrested by the then military-backed caretaker government.
The High Court division bench of Justice Bhabani Prasad Singha and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam on Thursday delivered the verdict.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by a lawyer for the state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration Company (BAPEX) and Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, or Petrobangla.
Canadian company Niko Resources signed the deals - joint venture agreement and gas purchase and sales agreement (GPSA) - with BAPEX and Petrobangla in 2003 and 2006 respectively.
A total of 11 people, including Bangladeshi Ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, were charged in 2008 for allegedly causing a loss of 137 billion taka (1.76 billion U.S. dollars) to the state exchequer by awarding gas exploration job to Niko.
Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission filed the Niko graft case in 2007 after Khaleda Zia, also chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party, was arrested by the then military-backed caretaker government.
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