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Published : 25 Feb 2026, 11:58 AM
A Dhaka court has sentenced Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat to 20 years in prison in a case over illegal wealth accumulation and money laundering.
Judge Md Zakaria Hossain of Dhaka Special Judge’s Court-6 delivered the verdict on Wednesday.
According to court officials, Samrat was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined Tk 1 million for acquiring wealth beyond known sources of income. In default of payment, he will have to serve an additional six months.
He was handed another 10-year term and fined Tk 1 million on the money laundering charge, with a further six months’ imprisonment if the fine is not paid. The court also ordered the confiscation of his illegally acquired assets in favour of the state.
The judge directed that the two sentences run consecutively, meaning Samrat will have to serve a total of 20 years.
As he remains absconding, the court has issued an arrest warrant against him.
The case dates back to Nov 12, 2019, when the then ACC deputy director Md Jahangir Alam prosecuted Samrat, accusing him of amassing Tk 29.48 million in illegal assets and laundering money.
The same official later investigated the case and submitted a chargesheet on Nov 26, 2020.
Samrat, once a prominent figure in the Dhaka South Jubo League, went into hiding after a Sep 18, 2019 raid by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) near the capital’s Motijheel Club revealed illegal casino operations.
He was arrested on Oct 7, 2019 along with associate Enamul Haque Arman from Chauddagram in Cumilla.
That afternoon, the RAB took Samrat to his Kakrail office at Bhuiyan Trade Centre for a raid.
After nearly five hours, the RAB said it recovered a foreign pistol with bullets, 1,160 yaba pills, 19 bottles of foreign liquor, two kangaroo hides, and an electric torture device.
The kangaroo skins led to Samrat being summarily sentenced to six months in jail by a mobile court under the Wildlife (Conservation) Act. Two separate cases under the Narcotics Control Act and the Arms Act were also filed at Ramna Police Station.
After being held in jail for 31 months, Samrat was granted bail in all four cases between Apr 10 and May 11, 2022, and released.
Following the political changeover, on Jul 17 last year the court framed charges against Samrat in the illegal wealth case and ordered the trial to open. His bail was revoked and an arrest warrant was issued.
Testimony in the case concluded on Feb 2, with the court recording statements from all 21 prosecution witnesses listed in the charge sheet.
Earlier, on Oct 28 last year, Samrat was sentenced to life imprisonment in an arms case.
