The High Court has acquitted BNP’s acting chairman Tarique Rahman and his wife Dr. Zubaida Rahman in a corruption case involving undisclosed wealth and providing false asset declarations.
On Wednesday, a single bench of the High Court delivered the verdict, accepting Dr. Zubaida Rahman’s appeal against her earlier conviction of three years` imprisonment.
The court ruled that the charges were not proven, resulting in the acquittal of both Tarique and Zubaida.
Previously, a lower court had sentenced Tarique Rahman to nine years in prison—three years under one section and six years under another—for acquiring assets beyond known income sources and concealing information.
Dr. Zubaida Rahman was sentenced to three years and fined for similar offenses. Her sentence had been temporarily suspended by an executive order.
The case was originally filed in September 2007 under the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, accusing Tarique Rahman, his wife Zubaida, and his mother-in-law of accumulating illegal wealth. A verdict was delivered in August 2023 by a special court.
Dr. Zubaida Rahman returned to Bangladesh earlier this year on May 6 after 17 years abroad, accompanying her husband Tarique Rahman. She had left the country in 2008.
