MP Papul to be produced before court on Sunday again
Bangladesh ambassador to Kuwait said they learnt about the date of next hearing but they did not get any official letter regarding Papul’s arrest
After being arrested and accused over human trafficking and money laundering charges, Bangladeshi lawmaker Kazi Shahid Islam aka Kazi Papul is now in a Kuwait prison.
After 12 days of interrogation by Kuwait's Criminal Investigation Department, Papul was transferred to prison on Wednesday.
The Kuwaiti prosecutor fixed Sunday as the day for conducting next hearing on allegations against the Bangladeshi lawmaker.
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SM Abul Kalam, Bangladesh ambassador to Kuwait, said they learnt the date of the next hearing, but they did not get any official letter regarding Papul's arrest.
"We are still working on it and trying to get an official reply regarding the matter," he told The Business Standard on Saturday.
Earlier, on June 10 the magistrate court of Mishref, Kuwait denied Papul's bail plea for a third time.
Meanwhile, Kuwait's public prosecutors are investigating four more officials for alleged involvement in human trafficking and money laundering with Papul.
Among the four, two are in-charge of the Kuwaiti Public Authority for Manpower, one is a colonel in the Ministry of the Interior and another one is an owner of a company, reports Arab Times.
As of June 19, the number of people under investigation rose to nine and it is expected to increase as investigations continue.
Maryam Al Aqeel, Kuwait's minister of social affairs and minister of state for economic affairs, issued a decision to suspend a senior official in the Public Manpower Authority for three months at the request of the Public Prosecution regarding the investigations conducted with him in the case of human trafficking.
Prosecutors heard testimonies of scores of workers brought from Bangladesh to Kuwait by the accused for money.
Kuwaiti media have also accused the Bangladeshi member of parliament of trading visas and siphoning off money to the US for laundering.
According to Al Qabas, Papul is a member of a three-man racket whose other members include another Bangladeshi lawmaker, whose wife is also a member of parliament.
It also said 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 believed to be in excess of $163 million.
The MP reportedly channelled the money to the US to set up a company in partnership with an American citizen, according to the report.
Papul runs the Marafie Kuwaitia Group as managing director and chief executive officer.
