Bangladesh brings fresh graft charge against ex-PM

DHAKA (Reuters) - Anti-corruption authorities in Bangladesh filed a new graft charge against detained former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia on Tuesday, police said.

Fifteen others, including nine former ministers in her cabinet, were also charged in connection with alleged kickbacks in a deal with a Chinese coal miner during Khaleda's second term in power between 2001 and 2006.

"An official of the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case on Tuesday afternoon charging the ex-PM and her colleagues," said an official at Dhaka's Shahbag Police station.

The charge relates to the awarding of a mining concession at the Barapukuria coalfield, 450 km (281 miles) northwest of Dhaka, to a Chinese firm. Prosecutors say the state incurred a loss of 1.58 billion taka ($23 million) on the deal.

The former prime minister and her younger son, Arafat Rahman, were arrested at their home in Dhaka in September last year, accused of illegally influencing the selection of an operator for two state-run container depots in 2003.

Arafat had allegedly persuaded his mother to select the operator of his choice, police said.

Her elder son, Tareque Rahman, was arrested in March for extortion, after the army-backed interim government launched a nationwide anti-graft drive.

More than 170 key political figures have been detained since the interim authority took charge in January last year, following months of political violence.

Khaleda's rival, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has also been detained for extortion and misuse of power since July last year, was brought before a court to hear a petition requesting her bail on Tuesday.