Casino kingpin Samrat ordered to appear in court for Tk195cr money laundering case
The court ordered that Samrat must be present at the next hearing scheduled for 26 October
A Dhaka court has ordered expelled Jubo League leader and casino kingpin Ismail Chowdhury Samrat, currently out on bail, to appear in person at the next hearing of the Tk195 crore money laundering case against him.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifuzzaman issued the directive today (23 October) after the prosecution successfully appealed to revoke Samrat's privilege of being represented solely by his lawyer.
Public prosecutor Muhammad Shamsuddoha Suman confirmed the matter to The Business Standard, noting that the day was scheduled for the submission of the investigation report and the appearance of the accused.
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Samrat's counsel, Afroza Shahanaz Parvin, had been representing him for the past two years using Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which excuses a defendant from personal attendance. The privilege which the prosecution moved to cancel during the hearing.
When the judge inquired about Samrat's whereabouts, his lawyer stated that she did not know. The court subsequently ordered that Samrat must be present at the next hearing, scheduled for 26 October.
The case was filed on 13 September 2020, by CID Sub-Inspector Rashedur Rahman with Ramna Model Police Station under the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
According to the case statement, Samrat, who rose to notoriety as a casino kingpin during the Awami League regime, ran "illegal businesses" from an office in Kakrail, conducting unlawful activities across Motijheel, Fakirapool, Paltan, and Kakrail.
Between 27 December 2014 and 9 August 2019, he allegedly amassed a huge sum of illicit money.
He is accused of laundering approximately Tk195 crore to Singapore and Malaysia through his associate, Enamul Haque Arman.
Case documents reveal Samrat travelled extensively, visiting Singapore 35 times, Malaysia three times, Dubai twice, and Hong Kong once between December 2011 and August 2019. Arman reportedly traveled to Singapore 23 times during a similar period.
Samrat and Arman were arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on 6 October 2019, from Cumilla. A subsequent raid on Samrat's Kakrail office uncovered bottles foreign liquor, a pistol, and hides of rare wild animals, leading to Samrat's immediate sentencing of six months in jail by a mobile court for the illegal possession of wildlife skins.
