Bangladesh Police opens probe into money-laundering charges against MP Shahid

The police have launched an investigation into allegations of money laundering against MP Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul, who is awaiting trial in a Kuwaiti jail on human-trafficking charges.

Al Amin Hossain, assistant superintendent of police at Criminal Investigation Department, started a case against Shahid and his family members under the Money Laundering Prevention Act at Paltan Police Station in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Those named in the case include Shahid’s sister-in-law Jasmine Prodhan, daughter Wafa Islam, brother Kazi Badrul Alam Liton, aide Mohammad Sadiqur Rahman Monir, Jasmine’s firm JW Lilabali, Liton’s compny Job Bank International and Golam Mostafa, manager of Job Bank International.

Shahid, the MP of Lakshmipur-2 seat, was arrested in Kuwait on Jun 6. A criminal court in the Middle-Eastern country is set to deliver the verdict on Jan 28, 2021 in a case against Shahid on human-trafficking and money-laundering charges.

The Kuwaiti prosecutors also charged Shahid with torturing employees of his company, based on the complaints from five Bangladeshi nationals subjected to trafficking. The incident stirred a political furore in Kuwait with two MPs of the country charged with taking bribes from Shahid.

Kuwait has frozen his bank accounts. The Anti-Corruption Commission in Bangladesh is also investigating the wealth of Shahid, his wife Salina Islam, who is an MP from the seats reserved for women, sister-in-law Jasmine, and daughter Wafa.

Manpower recruiter Shahid, who runs the Marafie Kuwaitia Group as managing director and CEO, was residing in Kuwait by taking advantage of the Aliens Residence Law.

The CID said in the case that Kuwait sent back 11 Bangladeshi human-trafficking victims after declaring Marafie Kuwaitia’s operations illegal in June this year.

The workers said they had paid between Tk 500,000 and Tk 700,000 each to the bank accounts of Shahid’s aide Monir and Job Bank International to go to Kuwait, according to the case dossier. One of them started a case against Shahid, Monir and others on human-trafficking charges later.

Following the lead in the human-trafficking case, the CID found that the accused earned at least Tk 382 million through human trafficking, according the dossier of the latest case.

They transferred the money to several bank accounts, bought assets and spent on luxury to conceal the illegal income, the CID said in the case.