Verdict in Coco case Thursday

Dhaka, June 22 (bdnews24.com) ? A Dhaka court will pronounce on Thursday verdict in the money laundering case against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's youngest son Arafat Rahman Coco and co-accused Ismail Hossain Simon in their absence.

On completion of arguments, judge Mohammad Mozammel Hossain of the Dhaka Special Judge's Court-3 on Sunday fixed Thursday (June 23) for the delivery of judgement in the money laundering case against Coco and Simon, son of former shipping minister late Akbar Hossain.

The same judge will announce the verdict on Thursday, clerk of the court Ariful Islam told bdnews24.com on Wednesday.

The first charge-sheet in the case against the two was framed on Nov 30 last year.

Coco, arrested on Sep 3, 2007 in the GATCO corruption case, has been in Bangkok for treatment on parole since July 19, 2008, while Simon is still absconding.

The government on Aug 19 last year cancelled Coco's parole and asked him to return home by Aug 31 and surrender before the court.

During the charge framing, the court on Nov 30 issued an arrest warrant against the accused as they failed to return to the country and appear before it within the specified time.

Recording of testimonies in the money laundering case against Coco started on Jan 4 this year and continued up to June 15.

The court on June 6 framed fresh charges against Coco and Simon under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2002 to avoid legal complications as they were indicted for activities which occurred before 2009. The same court on Nov 30 last year indicted Coco for money laundering under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2009.

Assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Abu Syed filed the case against Coco and Simon with the Kafrul Police Station in the city on Mar 17, 2009, stating that the accused had laundered to Singapore SGD 28,84,000 and to the United States USD 9,32,000 which they had received from China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Siemens for helping them bag government contracts.

China Harbour got a Tk 3.51 billion contract to set up New Mooring Container Terminal and Siemens a Tk 2.39 billion contract to supply and install equipment for Teletalk, the state-owned cell phone operator.

On Nov 12 last year, ACC official Abu Syed submitted the charge-sheet to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court, Dhaka, showing 23 people as prosecution witnesses.

Special public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol told bdnews24.com on Wednesday that the accused will be released from the case if they are found innocent by the court.

"If they are found guilty, they may be sentenced to a maximum punishment of seven year's jail and fined as per the Section 13 (2) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2002," he added.

Coco's counsel Taherul Islam told bdnews24.com that the court recorded testimonies of the 21 witnesses within a short time. "The witnesses have not been cross-examined as the accused were shown fugitives in the court document. So the verdict may be biased."

He also said that Coco has five more cases filed against him. Of those, a case filed for amassing wealth illegally and concealing information in his wealth statement submitted to the ACC, a extortion case and the GATCO corruption case have been on stayed following the Supreme Court order.

However, a tax evasion case filed against Coco by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) is under hearing at the Dhaka's Senior Special Judge's Court.

The charges against the accused in the case will be framed on June 26.

bdnews24.com/pb/skb/nir/2345h

View the original article here

Read more...

Indo-Pak peace talks start Thursday

Islamabad, June 22 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) ? India and Pakistan begin peace talks on Thursday, an important safety valve between two nuclear-armed countries which the United States hopes will help stabilise the region as it prepares to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

But after many false starts, hopes were being kept deliberately low for the two days of talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir.

"We have realistic expectations," an Indian government source said. "We should not expect quick and dramatic resolutions."

With the India-Pakistan rivalry often spilling into Afghanistan, the United States and its allies are hoping the peace process will gather pace in tandem with plans to gradually withdraw western troops ahead of a 2014 deadline.

President Barack Obama is due to announce the first of a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops later on Wednesday.

During the talks, the foreign secretaries will discuss Kashmir, the disputed territory which has bitterly divided India and Pakistan since independence in 1947.

Pakistan and India, which have fought three full-scale wars since independence, two over Kashmir, resumed a formal peace process in February, broken off after the November 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants which killed 166 people.

Progress has been incremental in talks which have included meetings between defence, interior and trade secretaries and a visit by Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to India to watch an India-Pakistan cricket match with his counterpart Manmohan Singh.

A CALL FOR PATIENCE

"Patience is something that is called for. We will have to be realistic, we will have to be positive in our approach," Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna told reporters in New Delhi this week.

He said the talks would hopefully "narrow the trust deficit and pave the way for normalisation" of relations.

Any sudden crisis between the two - for example if another Mumbai-style attack triggered a military confrontation - could further destabilise Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Given the importance of India's growing economy, it would also send shock waves around fragile markets worldwide.

In the Kashmir Valley, at the heart of a separatist revolt against Indian rule since 1989, and more recently scene of massive street protests which erupted in the past three summers, few held much hope of progress. "There is huge cynicism in Kashmir about the talks. People here have been witness to them for so many decades and never have they produced anything tangible, "said local political analyst Riyaz Ahmad. "These talks in the past have all ended in bitter disappointment," said Mohammad Saqlain, a 47-year-old school teacher.

"I don't see any hope. Kashmir may bleed more."

bdnews24.com/pks/1120h

View the original article here

Read more...

Voting for Sundarbans from Thursday

Dhaka, June 22 (bdnews24.com) ? Voting through SMS (short message service) to place the Sundarbans among one of the new seven wonders of nature will begin from Thursday.

All necessary preparations for the purpose have been made by the national committee overseeing the issue. State minister for environment and forest Hasan Mahmud will formally start the voting process at a press conference on Thursday at 12pm.

Mostafa Kamal Pasha, sub-project officer of 'Preservation of the Sundarbans and encouraging for voting in the New Seven Wonders of Nature election', told this bdnews24.com on Wednesday.

In this process, he said, the subscribers of any of the country's mobile phone operators can vote for the Sundarbans?the world's largest mangrove forest?through SMS, as many times they want.

Teletalk, a GSM-based state-owned mobile phone company in Bangladesh, is controlling the gateway prepared for the voting. Teletalk will receive the votes of the other operators and send it to the central centre from its server.

To vote for the Sundarbans, the mobile phone subscribers have been asked to write 'SB' as message and then send it to 16333. New Seven Wonders Foundation will thank the voter through a returning SMS.

Apart from the Sundarbans, there will be the names of the 28 spots of the final list in the SMS voting system. The short codes of the spots are available on the Teletalk website.

bdnews24.com/mk/skb/1818h

View the original article here

Read more...