After 17 years, the bank accounts of Khaleda Zia, Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and former Prime Minister, are set to be unfrozen. The decision was announced by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) on Monday, instructing banks to unlock her accounts, as reported by the Daily Star.
In August 2007, the Central Intelligence Cell of the NBR ordered the freezing of Zia’s accounts during the tenure of the Army-backed caretaker government. Khaleda Zia, who served as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister twice since 1990, had her finances restricted as part of a broader crackdown on political figures at the time.
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Throughout these years, the BNP repeatedly called for the release of her funds. While her accounts remained frozen, Zia was permitted to withdraw a limited amount of money each month from Rupali Bank’s Shaheed Moinul Road branch in Dhaka Cantonment to cover her daily expenses. During the same period, the bank accounts of her political rival, Sheikh Hasina, were also frozen but were later released when Hasina assumed the role of Prime Minister.
The latest development follows the recent political upheaval that saw Sheikh Hasina, a long-time adversary of Zia, overthrown in a mass uprising on August 5, ending the Bangladesh Awami League’s 15-year rule. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has since been installed as the head of an interim government on August 8.
At 79 years old, Khaleda Zia was released from jail after Hasina, 76, fled to India on August 5. Zia’s political career includes serving as Bangladesh’s Prime Minister from March 1991 to March 1996 and again from June 2001 to October 2006.
The decision to unfreeze her accounts was made following an application submitted by Khaleda Zia’s lawyer on Sunday. An NBR official confirmed that there are no pending tax-related investigations concerning her, prompting the recommendation to banks to lift the freeze on all her accounts. Banks have been directed to act immediately and submit a compliance report.