Money laundering: Online casino ‘kingpin’ Salim Prodhan denied bail
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A Dhaka court today rejected a bail petition of online casino "kingpin" Salim Prodhan in a case filed over amassing Tk 57.79 crore illegally and laundering about Tk 22 crore to Thailand and the USA.
Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman of the Special Judge Court-6 of Dhaka passed the order after his lawyer Shahinur Rahman submitted a petition, seeking bail in the case.
During the hearing, the lawyer said his client has been languishing in jail since September 30 of 2019 and termed the charges brought against Salim "false and fabricated". So, he appealed to the court to grant his client's bail, the defence added.
On the other hand, Special Public Prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir told the court that the charges of money laundering against the accused were primarily proved. Therefore, the bail petition should be rejected, the PP added.
Upon hearing both the sides, the judge turned down the defence plea, saying that the charges brought against the accused are specific.
On March 21, Judge KM Emrul Kayesh of the Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka took cognisance of the charges against the accused and transferred the case to Special Judge Court-6 for its trial.
On February 4, Anti-Corruption Commission's Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan, also the investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet to the Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka.
Salim, who came to the fore in 2019 when law enforcers conducted drives against illegal casino businesses, allegedly amassed his wealth from online casino businesses, said investigators.
Salim was arrested from a Bangkok-bound Thai Airways flight at Dhaka airport on September 30, 2019.
Later that night, Rab raided his office and residence in Gulshan and arrested his three associates -- Akhtaruzzaman, Roman, and Masum.
Three more cases including narcotics were also filed against him and those are now pending with different courts in Dhaka.
