The owner of a eight-storey building in Bangladesh that collapsed and killed hundreds of garment workers in 2013 has been sentenced to three years in prison over his ill-gotten assets, officials said.
Sohel Rana, the owner of Rana Plaza, was found guilty of accumulating property and money through corrupt practices by a special court in Dhaka on Tuesday, lawyer Faruk Ahmed said.
Rana constructed two commercial buildings, including the one that collapsed on April 24, 2013, in Savar, 20 kilometres north of the capital Dhaka, with money he derived from undisclosed sources, investigator Mahmbubul Alam said.
Rana was arrested four days after the collapse. It was the worst-ever industrial disaster in Bangladesh, leaving more than 1,100 people dead and more than 2,500 people injured. Most of the victims were employees of five garment factories who were housed there.
Rana has been charged in five other cases, including one for culpable homicide over the deaths of the workers due to his negligence.
The Anti-Corruption Commission had launched investigation against Rana and his family over his wealth after the deadly collapse.