DHAKA: Prosecutors formally lodged new charges on Wednesday against former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed over her alleged role in a 130-million-dollar defence deal with Russia.

An anti-corruption court charged Sheikh Hasina with “breach of trust” and “abuse of power” over the purchase of eight MiG fighter jets from Russia while she was prime minister in 1999, state lawyer Shaim Ahsan Khan said.

“Her trial on the charges formally began today. She faces a maximum life sentence and a minimum 10 years in jail if she is convicted,” Khan said.

Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League party, is being tried in absentia since she is receiving medical care in the United States.

She already faces separate accusations of taking kickbacks for the defence deal -- the biggest in Bangladesh's history -- but has not yet been formally indicted on those allegations. Khan alleged the fighter jets were faulty and ate up two-thirds of the Bangladesh Air Force's annual maintenance budget in repairs.

“Only four can fly at a time while the rest stay idle,” he told AFP, adding that witnesses in the case would testify starting September 3.

Six officials, including an ex-chief of the air force, have also been formally charged in the case.

Sheikh Hasina, who led the country between 1996 and 2001, is also being tried in absentia on charges of taking kickbacks for a power plant deal.

She was detained last year by the military-backed emergency government on corruption accusations.

The Awami League leader is one of more than 150 top political figures -- including her bitter rival and two-time prime minister Khaleda Zia -- detained as part of an anti-graft crackdown by the interim government.

She was freed on parole in June and allowed to travel to the United States to receive medical treatment for her hearing problems.

She will return to Bangladesh next month, her lawyers say. But political observers say she may opt for voluntary exile and not come back.

More than a dozen former ministers, lawmakers and their family members have been sentenced to between five and 20 years in jail by the fast-track anti-graft courts set up by the government.—AFP