Kuwait: Bank details of children of accused in Bangladeshi MP case sought

Kuwait City: Kuwait’s Public Prosecution asked banks to disclose accounts of seven children of one of the accused officers in the case of the Bangladeshi MP, Mohammed Shaid Islam, Al Rai reported.

A source told Al Rai public prosecution requested the disclosure of all bank accounts of all seven brothers, both locally and internationally, as part of its investigation into a money laundering case.

The banks were ordered to provide the judiciary with a detailed bank statement from the past five years, from February 2016 to October 2020, as that was the period their father was an officer.

Bangladeshi MP case

Back in June 8, Islam was arrested on charges of human trafficking, money laundering and bribery, according to local Kuwaiti media. In terms of human trafficking, he is being accused of bringing in thousands of Bangladeshis into Kuwait in exchange for money, usually ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 Kuwaiti dinars, Al Qabas reported.

Islam is the managing director and CEO of Marafie Kuwaitia Group, a security and labour contracting company. In addition, Islam has three other companies in Kuwait, all of which are cleaning and contracting firms.

The Bangladeshi MP had an annual net profit of around two million Kuwaiti dinars after all the bribes and money he spent on gifts in exchange for facilitating transactions and paperwork to bring workers from Bangladesh.

In August, it was revealed that Islam possessed a commercial licence that allowed him to trade in everything, from children’s toys to antiques, carpets and gold. By entering the gold and carpet business, Islam was able to continue his illegal permit trading scheme without raising suspicion because of the high value earned from his other business dealings, a source told Al Qabas.

In September, Islam’s partner, Amir Hossain, alias Siraj Uddin, admitted he fled Kuwait with the assistance of Kuwait’s immigration department in exchange for a huge bribe, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Hossain was arrested in Bangladesh in August after Kuwait’s criminal investigation authority notified Bangladesh that Hossain was Islam’s partner and had assisted in running a large human trafficking scheme.

Hossain is said to have fled to Bangladesh in May, along with two other Bangladeshis, before they were awarded their jail sentence. All three were arrested in Kuwait for allegedly being involved in Islam’s human trafficking ring. Although Kuwaiti police seized their passports and placed a travel ban on them, the three Bangladeshi men were able to leave Kuwait and travel to their country.