Dhaka, May 25 (IANS): Former Bangladesh prime minister and BNP chief Khaleda Zia on Monday appeared in a Dhaka court for hearing of graft cases involving her.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Special Judge's Court earlier issued a warrant of arrest for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson after she did not appear for consecutive hearings, bdnews24.com reported.

The cases against Khaleda relate to alleged embezzlement of over 50 million taka (nearly $646,000).

She was granted bail after appearing on April 5. But she skipped the next hearing.

In 2008, an anti-corruption court filed a corruption case relating to the Zia Orphanage Trust against six people, including Khaleda and her son Tarique.

It alleged that the defendants misappropriated 21 million taka from funds meant for the trust. The funds reportedly came from a foreign bank.

In 2011, the anti-corruption watchdog prosecuted the BNP chief and three others for embezzlement of 31.5 million taka of the Zia Charitable Trust.