<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;">A Dhaka court today allowed a prosecution plea to produce three foreigners, including a former FBI agent, to testify in Niko graft case against BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and seven others.</span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The three foreigners are- former supervisory special agent Debra LaPrevotte Grifith of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the USA, and Kevin Duggan and Liyod Skuip of Royal Canadian Mounted Police.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Judge Sheikh Hafizur Rahman of Dhaka Special Judge's Court-9 at Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj passed the order after holding hearing on a plea filed by Attorney General AM Amin Uddin. The attorney general filed the plea on September 12 and the court had set today for holding hearing on the matter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The court at the end of today's proceedings adjourned the hearing till October 10.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Earlier on March 19, 2023, the court framed charges against the accused.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Begum Khaleda Zia, who is now on bail, pleaded not guilty through her lawyer Masud Ahmed Talukder on that day and demanded justice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The other accused in the case are- Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Khandaker Shahidul Islam, CM Eusuf Hossain, Mir Moinul Haque, Gias Uddin Al Mamun, Selim Bhuiyan, and Kashem Sharif.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The anti-graft body filed the case against five including Begum Khaleda Zia with Tejgaon police station on December 9, 2007, for abusing power in signing a deal with Canadian company Niko for exploring and extracting gas.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ACC on May 5, 2008, submitted the charge-sheet against 11 people including Khaleda Zia. The ACC accused them of causing the incurring a loss of more than Taka 13 thousand crore to state exchequer by signing that deal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">As three accused- Barrister Moudud Ahmed, AKM Mosharraf Hossain, and Md Shafiur Rahman died of natural causes, they were discharged from the case, leaving the eight other accused to face the justice. BSS</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>