Mosharraf sued over Niko bribery

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday sued former state minister for energy A K M Mosharraf Hossain on charge of taking bribe from Niko, a Canadian oil and gas exploration company in Bangladesh.
ACC Assistant Director Shahidur Rahman filed the case with Shahbagh Police Station accusing Mosharraf Hossain and Kashem Sharif, the then vice-president of Niko Resources Ltd.
According to the case statement, Mosharraf took a Land Cruiser Jeep worth about Tk 95.58 lakh as a gift, and 5,000 Canadian dollars as bribe from Niko in 2005 in a bid to strike a contract between the government and Niko.
Under the arrangement, the government would buy gas extracted from the Feni Gas Field by Niko at an inflated price.
Kashem Sharif helped Mosharraf in an attempt to cause the loss to the government exchequer, the case statement said.
Earlier, Niko authorities confessed to a Canadian court that they were compelled to give the gift and bribe to sign the deal, it said.
The case was filed under the Penal Code and Corruption Prevention Act.
The ACC, during the last caretaker government's rule, filed another graft case against former premier Khaleda Zia, Mosharraf and nine others on charges of corruption and abuse of power in awarding a gas exploration and extraction deal to Niko.
According to the case statement, the awarding of contract caused a loss of Tk 13,777 crore to the state exchequer during BNP led four-party alliance government from 2001 to 2006.