CRACKDOWN ON CASINO Cash, liquors seized at Salim’s places
The Rapid Action Battalion in an overnight drive seized both Bangladeshi and foreign currency amounting to Tk 1.05 crore and bottles of liquor from the Banani house and Gulshan office of suspected online casino operator Salim Pradhan following his arrest on Monday afternoon after arresting him from Thailand bound flight.
Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit on Tuesday froze bank accounts of Salim Pradhan for 30 days following the drive.
To this end, BFIU issued a letter to all the scheduled banks asking seizure of Salim’s bank accounts.
The RAB-1 commanding officer Sarwar Bin Kashem said they also arrested Salim’s assistant Akhtaruzzaman in connection with operating the ‘online casinos’.
Salim Pradhan was arrested from the flight at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on charges of running an online casino in Bangladesh and money laundering. Around Tk 21 lakh was recovered from Salim’s house at Banani road No. 2 while foreign currencies of different countries worth over Tk 77 lakh and Tk 7 lakh in cash were recovered from his Gulshan-2 office.
During the raid, Sarwar said they also seized a total of 41 bottles of foreign liquor, 12 passports and others valuables including laptops and technical equipment.
They said two cases — one under money laundering prevention act and another under narcotic control act — would be filed against Salim and his two associates.
Sarwar said the businessman also confessed that he introduced the online-based casino business in 2018 with the help of a Korean citizen.
Salim was seen exhausted during the raid in his expensive house.
Salim, 38, also chairman of Japan-Bangladesh Group, was awarded CIP status by the Bangladesh government, according to the media report.
The RAB said he was also a friend of jailed businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun.
Law enforcement agencies have been conducting operations against individuals with ruling party links since September 18, which the government later termed as an initiative to attain sustainable development.
On September 18, the RAB started a sudden crackdown on gambling operations in the capital, shutting down once-popular sporting clubs like Youngmen’s Club, Wanderers Club, Muktijoddha Chittabinodon Club, Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra and Golden Dhaka Bangladesh in capital’s Fakirapul, Banani and Gulistan areas.
Meanwhile, metropolitan magistrate Sadbir Yasir Ahsan Chowdhury on Tuesday remanded the seven bodyguards of the Awami Juba League cooperative government contractor SM Golam Kibria Shamim for four days in custody over a case filed by RAB in connection with money laundering.
The Criminal Investigation Department of police sought the interrogations of the seven bodyguards — Delwar Hossain, Murad Hossain, Jahidul Islam, Shahidul Islam, Kamal Hossain, Samsad Hossain and Aminul Islam.
The seven bodyguards were arrested with their employer Shamim on September 20.
The Rapid Action Battalion officials, aided by an executive magistrate, on September 20 seized Tk 1.8 crore in cash and Tk 165 crore in fixed deposit receipts issued to Golam Kibria Shamim and his mother Ayesha Akhter from the second floor of his business building.
Shamim is the chairman and managing director of the engineering construction company GKB, enlisted with the government.
News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net
