ACC targets 20 people as probe opens into casino ties

The Anti-Corruption Commission has begun a probe against 20 people who made a fortune through illegal casinos in Dhaka.

“The commission is investigating their illegally accumulated wealth. But the ACC can't take any action against them for engaging in gambling. It can only probe the illegally accumulated wealth,” ACC Chairman Iqbal Mahmud reporters on Monday.

On Oct 1, ACC decided to open a probe against those who amassed wealth through illegal earning from casino business.

The commission took the decision in an emergency meeting and assigned ACC Director Syed Iqbal Hossain to begin the probe. Its Director General (special investigation) Sayeed Mahbub Khan is in charge of the overall inquiry.

A group of people with close ties to the ruling party has been associated with 60 casinos in the capital, according to media reports.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who heads the Awami League expressed her indignation over the illegal acts by some leaders of Jubo League, the youth front of the ruling party.

The Rapid Action Battalion raided a series of clandestine casinos set up inside sporting clubs in the city in September.

On Sept 18, RAB arrested Dhaka South Jubo League Organising Secretary Khaled Mahmud Bhuiyan, the man behind a gambling ring.

RAB also arrested Dhaka South Jubo League President Ismail Chowdhury Samrat and his aide Enamul Haque Arman amid allegations of their involvement in gambling on Sunday.