Kuwait detains Bangladesh MP Shahid on human trafficking allegations

Crime investigators of the Kuwaiti police have detained Bangladeshi MP Mohammad Shahid Islam aka Kazi Papul who is accused of people trafficking.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 7 June 2020, 02:17 PM
Updated : 7 June 2020, 04:37 PM

The police detained him at his home on Saturday night, Bangladesh Ambassador SM Abul Kalam told bdnews24.com.

The ambassador could not confirm the reason behind the detention of the MP.

Shahid’s wife Salina Islam claimed the reports on his “arrest” were “incorrect”.

He is not accused in any case in Kuwait, claimed Salina, who is also an MP from the seats reserved for women.

Kuwait authorities called him for “a business discussion in keeping with the procedure”, she added.

Having travelled to Kuwait as a migrant worker, Shahid now owns a business empire there. He was elected as an independent candidate from Laxmipur-2 in 2018

In February, the Kuwaiti media had run reports accusing him of human trafficking, trading visas and siphoning off money to the US for laundering.

After the arrest of a Bangladeshi man, the media said he and his two associates occupied sensitive positions in three major companies that brought over 20,000 Bangladeshi workers into the country in exchange for large sums of money believed to be in excess of 50 million dinars or around Tk 13.8 billion.

One of the two associates was a Bangladeshi MP who channelled the money to the US to set up a company in partnership with an American national, according to a report.

The media did not name the MP but the descriptions matched Shahid. He had denied the allegations.

A vice-chairman of NRB Commercial Bank, Shahid is also chairman of NRB Securities Exchange Company. He sits on the board of Crystal Energy Limited as a director.

With permanent resident status in Kuwait, Shahid is known as Kazi Shahid Islam Papul to his constituents.

He runs the Marafie Kuwaitia Group as managing director and CEO.

The businesses of the company with presence in Kuwait, Oman and Jordan range from waste management, cleaning and janitorial services to security solutions to heavy equipment rental to engineering.

According to his website, the MP is chief patron of the ruling Awami League’s overseas unit in Kuwait, founder of Bangabandhu School and founding chairman of Bangladesh Community, an organisation of expatriates, in the Middle-Eastern country.