The High Court on Thursday declared two joint venture agreements of Canadian gas exploration company Niko with Bapex and Petrobangla illegal.
A bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman pronounced the verdict after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed in 2016 by Consumers Association of Bangladesh former president M Shamsul Alam challenging legality of the agreements.
In 2003, Niko signed the joint venture agreement with Bapex for developing Chhatak East and Feni gas fields.
In 2005, two blowouts occurred during drilling destroying the Tangratila gas field of Chhhatak and damaging the environment around it.
In 2006, Niko signed the agreement for selling gas from Feni field to Petrobangla.
In the verdict, the court also directed the government to confiscate all the assets of the abandoned gas fields in favour of the state, Supreme Court lawyer Tanjib-ul Alam told reporters quoting the verdict.
The court also found corruption in signing the agreements, and asked the government to take action against those who were involved in signing, he said.
The court asked the government to confiscate the assets of Niko in Bangladesh in favour of the state as compensation due to blowouts in Tengratila of Chhatak gas fields, the lawyer said.
Tanjib said that the verdict paved the way for the Anti-Corruption Commission to take initiative for speedy disposal of the Niko corruption case filed in 2007 against former prime minister and Bangladesh Nationalist Party chief Khaleda Zia, and her former cabinet colleagues and the then Niko high officials Qasim Sharif and Selim Bhuiyan, now pending with a special court in Dhaka.
The ACC filed the case on December 9, 2007 accusing Khaleda and several others of abusing power to award a gas exploration and extraction deal to Canadian company Niko when she was prime minister between 2001 and 2006.
Later on May 5, 2008, it submitted charge sheet against 11 people.
Source: New Age
