CID yet to initiate money laundering probe against online gambling

Illustration: TBS

Highlights:

• CID recently arrested 3 agents of an online gambling site
• The trio smuggle Tk4 crores in four months
• The money is withdrawn through MFS and smuggled using hundi and other informal means
• No probe under the Money Laundering Act is encouraging gambling site operators  

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is yet to initiate money laundering probes against online betting sites, which have sprung up in Bangladesh in the last few years, despite finding evidence of laundering through those sites.

CID's Cyber Police Centre recently arrested 3 Bangladeshi agents of online gambling site Betwinner, which is owned by Cyprus-based Marikit Hollings Limited and operated from Russia.

These agents withdraw the money, deposited in the site, through mobile financial services and convert into US dollars using a money exchange app called Binance. Later the money is smuggled to different countries through Binance.

The arrested trio smuggled some Tk4 crores in four months.

However, Muhammad Rezaul Masud, special superintendent of police at Cyber Police Center, told The Business Standard that investigation under the Money Laundering Act has not started yet.

The Cyber and Special Crime wing of Detective Branch (DB) arrested 4 agents of online gambling site Shillong Teer in 2020. They recently filed the charge sheet in the case, filed under the Digital Security Act.

These gambling agents collect money from salesmen in Dhaka and send the money to Sylhet's Jaflong through mobile financial services. The money is then smuggled to India through hundi, an informal money transferring mechanism, said those involved in the probe.

Mohammad Tarek Bin Rashid, deputy commissioner of police (DC) of DB, Cyber and Special Crime told The Business Standard, "We found preliminary evidence of money laundering against some of them during our investigation. We have forwarded our findings to the CID. However, no betting site has yet been charged under the Money Laundering Act."

CID's Cyber Police Centre and the Cyber and Special Crime, DB are investigating at least 6 cases after the crackdown against online gambling.

The gambling sites, identified so far, include 1xbet, mostbet, betbuzz.365 and bet365ni.

Officials related to the investigation told The Business Standard that preliminary evidence of hundreds of crores of money laundering has been found against all the betting sites. They have laundered money through various channels including hundi and cryptocurrency.

The preliminary evidence of money laundering has been sent to CID's Financial Crime Unit, assigned to investigate money laundering.  

However, Humayun Kabir, Special Superintendent of Police for CID's Financial Crime Unit, told The Business Standard that the Financial Crime Unit did not investigate these gambling sites.

"The Cyber Police Centre cracked down on the gambling sites and they are investigating. They will also conduct the money laundering probe," said the financial crime unit official.   

Although online gambling has spread widely in the country since 2020, slow probes and no prosecution so far are encouraging the masterminds of gambling sites and the people addicted to gambling.