Tareque and his former private secretary, Nuruddin Apu, have been charged with extorting 10 million taka ($145,000) from Amin Ahmed Bhuiyan, a construction firm owner, in January, police said.

Tareque was arrested from Khaleda Zia's home in Dha

If convicted, Tareque could face a jail term for up to five years as well as a fine, lawyers say.

Khaleda ended her five-year term as prime minister in October and handed power to an interim authority, now headed by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed.

Fakhruddin says he will eliminate corruption from politics and government before announcing a date for parliamentary elections.

An election planned for January 22 was postponed after widespread demonstrations.

Police said more charges were likely to be filed against Tareque for amassing huge wealth through corrupt means.

Police were also investigating charges of money laundering and the transfer of money to foreign countries by Tareque over the past five years.

Bangladesh's election commission is working on a new law that would permanently ban anyone convicted of a crime from contesting elections.

Tareque, Khaleda's likely political heir, was preparing to contest a constituency in his home district, Bogra, in the north of the country, in the coming polls.