Casino kingpin Samrat's bail cancelled, arrest warrant issued in Tk195cr money laundering case
For the past two years, Samrat's lawyer had been representing him under Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a privilege the prosecution appealed to cancel last week.
A Dhaka court today (26 October) cancelled the bail petition and issued an arrest warrant for expelled Jubo League leader and casino kingpin Ismail Chowdhury Samrat and his associate Enamul Haque Arman in a case involving the alleged laundering of Tk195 crore.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Saifuzzaman passed the order after the accused failed to appear in court for a scheduled hearing, defying a previous directive for their mandatory personal appearance.
Public prosecutor Omar Faruq Faruqi confirmed the development, explaining that the court had previously ordered the accused to appear in person today. Since the accused individuals were absent, the court revoked their bail and issued the warrants.
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The order follows a directive issued on 23 October, where the same court ordered Samrat to attend the hearing. For the past two years, Samrat's lawyer had been representing him under Section 205 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a privilege the prosecution appealed to cancel last week.
When the judge had 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 today.
The money laundering case was filed on 13 September 2020, by CID Sub-Inspector Rashedur Rahman with Ramna Model Police Station.
According to the case statement, Samrat allegedly conducted "illegal activities" from an office in Kakrail, amassing a huge sum of illicit money between 27 December 2014, and 9 August 2019. He is accused of laundering approximately Tk195 crore to Singapore and Malaysia with the help of his associate, Arman.
Case documents suggest extensive foreign travel as Samrat reportedly travelled to Singapore 35 times, Malaysia three times, Dubai twice, and Hong Kong once between December 2011 and August 2019, while Arman made 23 trips to Singapore 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 led to the recovery of foreign liquor, a pistol, and skins of rare wild animals, for which a mobile court sentenced Samrat to six months in jail.
