Hasina's younger sister, Sheikh Rahana, now abroad, and her cousin, former minister Sheikh Selim, have also been charged in the same case with extorting some 30 million taka ($435,000) from a businessman.

"Today we have formally submitted the charges to the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate," said an investigating police officer.

Hasina, leader of the Awami League, was arrested at her home on July 16 and sent to a house converted into a prison inside Dhaka's sprawling parliament compound. Former health minister Sheikh Selim was arrested in late April.

Bangladesh has been under a state of emergency imposed by the army-backed interim administration, which took over in January and launched a crackdown on corruption ahead of elections planned for late next year.

More than 170 political figures, including former ministers in both the governments of Hasina and her arch rival Begum Khaleda Zia, leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, have been detained for graft and abuse of power.