Bangladesh's interim government has formally charged former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday with corruption.
Ms. Hasina is accused of illegally awarding contracts to a foreign oil company during her term.
On Monday, authorities also charged former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia in connection with the case.
The Anti-Corruption Commission says the country lost millions of dollars as a result of the contracts given to a Canadian oil exploration company, Niko Resources Ltd.
Ms. Zia has maintained her innocence, saying the allegations are politically motivated. Both of her sons - Tarique and Arafat Rahman - have also been arrested on graft charges.
Both former prime ministers are part of the some 150 politicians arrested last year in a nationwide crackdown on corruption.
The military-backed interim government took power in January 2007 and has promised to hold elections once corruption has been eliminated
The U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh, James Moriarty, urged Bangladesh to lift a state of emergency so that those elections could take place by the end of the year.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
