DHAKA - TWO of several corruption charges against Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be dropped after state prosecutors said they were filed for political reasons, officials said on Monday.

Ms Hasina, who was sworn in on January 6, was detained for a year by the previous army-backed government, which conducted a crackdown on graft against mainly political leaders during its two years in power.

She was released as part of a deal with the outgoing authorities so that she could contest the vote.

'We have reviewed the cases and found they were politically motivated and filed to harass the leaders. They don't have any merit and the state won't benefit by pursuing them,' state prosecutor Abdullah Abu told AFP, adding that about 50 cases against other politicians would also be dropped.

But he said Ms Hasina still faced eight other charges, including several more counts of graft and one count of murder relating to the 2006 deaths of supporters of opposition political parties in violent street protests.

The remaining charges, along with about 800 against other top politicians, would be reviewed and dropped if found to be 'politically motivated.' At one time Hasina, who was also premier from 1996 to 2001, faced at least half a dozen graft charges.

Earlier this month, the head of Bangladesh's anti-corruption watchdog stepped down, hinting he was unable to work under the new government after it limited the body's remit over politicians.

Last year, global watchdog Transparency International ranked Bangladesh as the 10th most corrupt country in the world. -- AFP