Giasuddin Al Mamun sentenced to 7 years in prison in money laundering case

A Dhaka court has sentenced controversial businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun, a friend and business associate of BNP leader Tarique Rahman, to seven years in prison in a money laundering case.

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Judge Abu Sayed Dilzar Hossain of the Dhaka Special Court 3 announced the verdict on Wednesday.

The court also fined Mamun Tk 120 million under the money laundering act.

The court reached the verdict after hearing the arguments of the state and the defendant on Apr 8. A total 10 of the 12 witnesses named in the case had offered testimonies before the court.

According to the case, M Shahzad Ali, erstwhile chairman of BTL and Globe Pharmaceuticals Ltd, had won a tender to mordernise the railway signalling system. But Mamun demanded a commission from him and had threatened to cancel the work order if he did not receive the payment, the court heard. 

Mamun earned Tk 60,157,762 million between 2003 and 2006 and siphoned the money off to the London branch of the UK’s NatWest Bank.

The case was filed by ACC Deputy Director Mohammad Ibrahim on Sep 22, 2011 at the Cantonment Police Station. He submitted the charges against Mamun on Apr 26, 2013.

Mamun has been in prison since his arrest during the military-backed caretaker government’s term. He has been named in over 20 cases relating to extortion, corruption, tax evasion and other crimes.

He had also been sentenced to seven years imprisonment and fined Tk 200 million in a separate case of money laundering along with BNP's acting chief in exile Tarique Rahman.