Casino king Samrat laundered Tk195 crore to Singapore, Malaysia
A CID officer said they got proof after primary probe and then filed a money laundering case
The financial crime unit under the organised crime division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Sunday filed a money laundering case with Ramna Police Station against casino king and expelled Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat and his associate Anamul Hoque Arman.
Mustafa Kamal, special superintendent of the CID, told The Business Standard the CID had long been investigating Samrat's involvement in money laundering.
"We got proof after primary investigation. Then we filed the case against them."
According to the case statement and CID sources, Ismail and Anamul amassed hundreds of crores of taka by running illegal activities like casinos in Motijheel, Fakirapool, Paltan and Kakrail areas. They laundered Tk195 crore to Singapore and Malaysia.
The case statement said Samrat had travelled 35 times to Singapore, three times to Malaysia, two times to Dubai, and once to Hong Kong from 2011 to 2019. Also, Anamul travelled 23 times to Singapore during that period.
Meanwhile, Mahbubur Rahman, jailer at Dhaka central jail, told The Business Standard Samrat was shifted to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital on doctors' advice Sunday.
He said Samrat had earlier been brought to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital from Kashimpur central jail because of his illness.
On October 6 last year, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested former Dhaka South Jubo League president Samrat and his close aide Anamul, former vice-president of the same unit, in Cumilla after raiding a house near the Indian border.
They also conducted several raids on Samrat's Kakrail office and residences in Dhanmondi and Banani DOHS. A RAB mobile court led by Executive Magistrate Sarwoer Alam sentenced Samrat to a six-month imprisonment for possessing wild animal hides and another six months for having illegal liquor.
Samrat came under the spotlight after RAB busted his illegal casino business at different sporting clubs in Dhaka. He was expelled from the Jubo League following his arrest.
After his arrest, RAB filed two cases against him with Ramna Police Station the next day and on September 24. They had already pressed charges against him in arms and narcotics cases.
The Anti-Corruption Commission also filed a case against him. The trial is going on.
