Bangladesh's former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, barred from going abroad because she faces charges of extortion, was quoted as saying on Saturday that she never took money from anyone for herself, although her party accepted donations.
"I have never extorted any money from anybody, but of course some people give donations to the Awami League," an Awami leader who asked not to be identified quoted Hasina as telling senior party leaders.
"In Bangladesh parties are funded through donations," Hasina reportedly said, replying to critics who want corrupt politicians including herself purged as part of reforming political parties.
More than 170 senior leaders of the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by the most recent prime minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, have been detained in a crackdown on corruption that began in January, when an army-backed interim government took charge following deadly political violence. They include Khaleda's elder son and political heir Tareque Rahman and over a dozen former ministers from BNP and the Awami League.
Hasina had planned to leave Dhaka on Friday night for the United States to see her son, daughter and their families. But a court on Thursday ordered immigration officials and police not to allow her to go, saying her presence in the country was needed for investigation of extortion charges against her. Hasina cancelled the trip only hours before the scheduled departure time, her colleagues told reporters.
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