Casino kingpin Salim owns 7 companies in Thailand, did illegal transactions of Tk20 crore
According to ACC sources, Salim laundered at least Tk13 crore to Thailand which was earned from his online casino business
Casino kingpin Salim Pradhan owns 7 companies in Thailand and he illegally transacted more than Tk20 crore there. Besides he laundered 13 crore taka from his illegal online casino business.
An investigation team of the Anti-corruption Commission discovered this while investigating a case against him.
According to ACC sources, Salim laundered at least Tk13 crore to Thailand which was earned from his online casino business.
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ACC found detailed information about 7 companies including Pradhan Global trading, Asia United, and Toma Home Pataya owned by Salim. Besides, ACC found evidence of illegal transactions in Bangkok Bank, Siam Commercial Bank in Bangkok.
ACC commissioner Dr Mozammel Haque Khan said, the ACC will take legal support from Thailand through a Mutual Legal assistance Request (MLAR).
Meanwhile, the commission's Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Unit has sent an MLAR to the Thailand government asking it to share information about Salim Pradhan's investment in the country.
ACC spokesperson Pranab Kumar Bhattacharjee confirmed this to The Business Standard saying, "The commission sent the MLAR through the Attorney General's Office last week."
The investigating officer of Salim's case and Deputy Director of the organisation Gulshan Anwar Pradhan made the request as he got information that Salim Pradhan had laundered huge amounts of money to Thailand through the online casino business.
The ACC has already frozen 50 bank accounts of Salim Pradhan and all his other assets in Bangladesh.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police submitted a charge-sheet against Selim Pradhan and his five associates on 24 September over laundering Tk13 crore.
The CID also found a luxury villa in Thailand and nine other businesses that belong to the accused.
"The CID also seized two cheques worth Tk60 crores while investigating the money laundering cases."
Salim Prodhan was arrested from a Bangkok-bound Thai Airways flight at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on September 30, over alleged involvement in running an online casino business.
Later that night, the Rapid Action Battalion raided his office and residence in Gulshan and arrested Selim's associates Aktaruzzaman, Roman, and Masum.
The elite force also seized 48 bottles of foreign liquor, Tk28 lakh in cash, foreign currencies from 23 different countries worth around Tk77 lakh, 12 passports, 32 cheque books of 13 banks, one large server used in game operating, four laptops and two deer hides.
A Rab mobile court also sentenced Salim to six-month imprisonment for illegally keeping the deer hides.
Later on October 27 last year, the ACC filed a case against Salim Pradhan for amassing illegal wealth worth Tk12.27 crore.
