A Bangladesh court on Tuesday jailed the Rana Plaza owner for three years for graft, the first of many charges laid against him after the garment factory complex collapsed in 2013 and killed more than 1,130 people.
Sohel Rana was given the maximum three-year sentence by a special court in Dhaka for failing to declare his personal wealth to Bangladesh's anti-graft commission, one of a series of charges brought after the disaster.
"This is the first time he has been convicted and jailed," said prosecutor Salahuddin Eskander.
Mr Eskander said Rana, who faces four other charges, including murder, for his role in one of the world's worst industrial tragedies, was in court for the verdict.
He and 37 others could be sentenced to death if found guilty of murder over the factory complex's collapse. But that trial has been delayed by appeals in the higher court.
Read more: Bangladesh garment workers stage tearful protest, four years after factory collapse
Rana was arrested just days after the accident at the border with India as he tried to flee Bangladesh.
He became the nation's public enemy number one in the aftermath of the disaster as survivors recounted being forced to enter the building to work despite complaining about cracks appearing in the walls.
Rana and 17 others have also been charged with violating building codes when extending the six-storey structure by a further three floors. The illegal construction was blamed by investigators for the tragedy.
His lawyer Faruque Ahmed said Rana would appeal the verdict.
"He was in custody when he was served the Anti Corruption Commission notice to submit his wealth statement. In the jail he was not given enough time to meet his lawyer or his family," said Mr Ahmed.
The Rana Plaza disaster prompted sweeping reforms in the garment sector, including new safety inspections and higher wages in an industry that employs around four million workers, mostly women.
Bangladeshi activists welcomed the verdict against Rana, but urged prosecutors to fast-track a court date for his murder trial.
"It has been four years since the tragedy, and still this trial has not begun in full swing," said Kalpona Akter, head of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity.
"He is a cold-blooded murderer. He forced workers to work in a death chamber."
Rana, who was linked with the ruling Awami League party, also faces a narcotics charge.
The disaster highlighted appalling safety problems in Bangladesh's nearly US$30 billion (Dh110.2bn) garment industry, the world's second largest exporter after China's.
A host of western retailers had clothing made at the complex's five factories, including Italy's Benetton, Spain's Mango and the British low-cost chain Primark.
Bangladesh's anti-graft agency has accused Rana of purchasing property with suspicious funds. The agency is also investigating his parents for allegedly hoarding more than $2 million in ill-gotten gains.
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Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
