BNP to legally fight Tarique’s money laundering conviction

Dhaka, July 23 : Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Saturday said that his party would face the High Court verdict against its leader Tarique Rahman in a money laundering case through a legal process. Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, was sentenced to seven years in prison for money laundering by the High Court on July 21. Mirza Fakhrul said that the High Court verdict against the party's senior vice-chairman Tarique was totally politically motivated. Tarique was also fined Tk 20 crore by the High Court. The High Court overturned a lower court verdict, which acquitted Tarique in the money laundering case involving Tk 20.41 crore. This is for the first time that BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's elder son has been convicted and handed down punishment by a court in one of the 19 cases filed against him since 2007.