Security has been heightened on the court premises ahead of the verdict in a graft case against BNP Acting Chairperson Tarique Rahman and his wife Zubaida Rahman over illicit wealth accumulation.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Asaduzzaman will announce the verdict at 3 pm on Wednesday. He fixed the date on Jul 27 after hearing the closing arguments in the case.

If found guilty, Tarique and Zubaida could face a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison, said Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Mosharraf Hossain Kajol.

The ACC filed the case at Dhaka’s Kafrul Police Station in 2007, accusing the couple of owning Tk 48.15 million beyond their means and concealing information on their assets.

Tarique's mother-in-law, Iqbal Mand Banu, was named as the third suspect in the case. Her name was later dropped after the case moved to the High Court.

The case against Tarique, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, and his wife was filed during the rule of the army-backed caretaker government. Tarique was arrested and imprisoned for one and a half years before he was released on bail.

While on bail, Tarique travelled to the United Kingdom with his family and never returned home. He became a senior vice chairman of the BNP while living abroad and currently serves as the acting chairman of the party.

Verdicts in four other cases against Tarique have been delivered already. He has been sentenced to two years in jail for derogatory remarks about Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, seven years in jail in a money laundering case, 10 years in jail in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, and life imprisonment in the Aug 21 grenade attack case.

Zubaida married Tarique in 1993. Zubaida joined the health cadre of the Bangladesh Civil Service two years later. The government sacked Zubaida in 2014 as she did not rejoin her workplace after taking a leave.