Kazi Shahidul Islam Papul, the lawmaker from Lakshmipur -2, earned money through human trafficking by exploiting poor low-income workers of Bangladesh.
Kuwaiti Company owner Papul has five million Kuwaiti dinars in his account, according to the Kuwaiti media that quoted the Public Prosecutor's Office of Kuwait.
The MP was like a mafia boss who demanded 'taxes' from poor, low-income workers, who obeyed and paid payments to him, Al Rai reported.
"The accused men were imposing a 'royalty' on workers at a value of 8 dinars per day," a witness said. The Criminal Court in Kuwait sentenced Kazi Shahidul Islam Papul to four years in jail, reports Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas.
The Criminal Court headed by Counselor Abdullah Al-Othman issued the judgment on Tuesday in the sensational human-trafficking and money-laundering cases.
The Arab Times reported on Saturday (June 20th) night that government prosecutors had already applied to Kuwait's central bank to seize Papul and his company's bank accounts.
According to the prosecution, the company has 5 million Kuwaiti dinars in its account. Of which 3 million dinar is company capital.
This step has been taken to prevent the suspects from withdrawing or transferring the money and confiscating it if found guilty in court. Papul, an MP from Laxmipur-2 constituency, was arrested on the night of June 8 from Musharraf area of Kuwait.
Papul, one of the owners of the Marafi Kuwait Company, has a permanent residence permit in Kuwait.
The Kuwaiti prosecution charged Papul with human trafficking, money laundering and exploitation of business workers on the basis of allegations made by five Bangladeshi victims.
He has been remanded in custody since the day after his arrest.
What the Bangladeshi MP said in remand is being published by various media outlets quoting the prosecutors. How he bribed Kuwaiti officials is also coming up.
According to Kuwaiti media reports, investigators have already identified seven people as Papul's supporters. Among them are two current and one former member of parliament from Kuwait.
There is a demand in the country to bring all of them to justice by revealing their names quickly. Papul, who went to Kuwait as an ordinary worker and built a huge empire, was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2016 as an independent candidate.
Not only that, his wife Selina Islam was also made a Member of Parliament in the reserved seat.
Papul is the Vice-Chairman of NRB Commercial Bank founded by expatriate entrepreneurs, where he has a large stake. Papul had earlier told investigators that the Marfa Kuwaiti Company had about 9,000 employees.
Most of them are Bangladeshis. He also informed that there are agreements with 34 government agencies and institutions for recruitment.
It was reported that two of the three were bribed by a Bangladeshi MP with a total of 21 lakh dinars in checks and cash.
In addition to the seizure of bank accounts, the Arabic daily Al-Qabas also reported the seizure of various documents, including money, documents and CCTV footage deposited in Papul's company office.
Citing government prosecutors, various newspapers wrote that Papul's annual profit was 20 lakh dinars (about 55 crore 19 lakh taka). The Arab Times reported that investigators in Papua New Guinea had provided information to investigators.
According to Al Qabas, Papul is a member of a three-men racket whose other members include another Bangladeshi MP, whose wife is also an MP from the seats reserved for women.
It added that the trio occupied sensitive positions in three major companies that brought over 20,000 Bangladeshi workers into Kuwait in exchange for large sums of money.
Papul reportedly channeled the money to the US to set up a company in partnership with an American national, according to the report.
