Oct 26, 2009, 14:30 GMT South Asia News
Dhaka - Bangladesh's anti-graft watchdog on Monday charged Tarique Rahman, the eldest son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and one of his aides with money laundering, police said.
Mohammad Ibrahim, an assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, filed a lawsuit against Tarique and his business partner, Giasuddin Al Mamun, for diverting the equivalent of more than 2.9 million dollars to two foreign banks, Hosne Ara, a police officer at Cantonment Police Station said.
The officer said Tarique and Mamun are accused of sending money to Singapore without the central bank's permission, violating the country's money laundering laws.
'The anti-graft officials will investigate the allegation,' she said.
Tarique, who is a suspect in 14 other graft cases, most of them filed after his mother ended a five-year tenure in office in late 2006, is now in London for medical treatment.
He was arrested during the two-year rule of a military backed interim government, which took over in the wake of political turmoil in January 2007. However, he was granted bail to seek medical treatment abroad.