No headway in former MP Papul case probe even after 3.5yrs 

Three years and a half have passed since the investigation into the money laundering case against former lawmaker Kazi Shahid Islam Papul began. Initially showing momentum, the investigation has since stalled and remains incomplete.

Papul, the former parliament member for the Laxmipur-2, was tried, convicted, and has been serving a prison term in Kuwait for the past three years in a case filed there in the same year.

Officials of the Bangladesh's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said their investigation is nearly complete, but they are waiting for requested information about Papul's wealth from Kuwait.

Mehedi Maksud, the CID inspector and investigation officer for the case, told The Business Standard that they have written to the Kuwaiti government for more information on Papul's assets.

"The inquiry report will be submitted to the court once we receive a response," he said. However, the officer could not provide an exact time frame for when that might happen.

On 7 June 2020, Kuwaiti law enforcers arrested Papul on charges of operating illegal businesses, human trafficking, and money laundering. Later, he was remanded for 17 days. The trial procedure began on 17 September 2020.

After finishing the trial procedure on 28 January 2021, a Kuwaiti court sentenced the Bangladeshi lawmaker to four years in prison and fined him Tk53 crore. 

Later, an appeal court increased his prison sentence to seven years from four. He was also penalised Tk56.32 crore extra. Papul has been in Kuwait jail since 2020.

Meanwhile, on 25 December 2020, the CID filed a money laundering case against Kazi Papul, his daughter Kazi Wafa Islam, and six others for syphoning off Tk38.22 crore.

At the end of 2021, the then chief of CID Mahbubur Rahman told the media that the investigation process of the case filed against Papul was almost at its final stage and the investigation report of the case will be submitted soon. 

Slow investigation 

The progress report of the case shows Iqbal Hossain, the then CID's additional superintendent of police for financial crimes, was initially given the responsibility of investigating the case.

Till 25 January 2021, 55 bank accounts of five people including Papul and his wife, children and sister-in-law were seized. Among them, Papul alone had 10 accounts, wife Selina Akhtar had 15, sister-in-law Jasmine Akhtar had 11, and daughter Wafa Islam had six accounts. 

Besides, the CID got the information of eight more accounts jointly owned by the wife and daughter. 

Also, on 8 February of that year, Iqbal Hossain officially sent a letter — Mortgage Lending and Administration Return (MLAR) — to the Kuwaiti government asking for information on the lawmaker's assets they had found in their investigation.

Then in April 2021, investigating officer Iqbal Hossain was replaced by Inspector Mehedi Maksud. 

Several officials of the CID said they started investigating the case very seriously at first and several allegations against Papul, including money laundering, were found to be true.

However, after the investigation officer was changed, the investigation process was somewhat stalled, they said.

Waiting for Kuwaiti response 

A top official of the CID, on condition of anonymity, told TBS that once they receive a response from Kuwait, a charge sheet will be filed

"MLAR matters fall under the home ministry. The CID has nothing to do here," said the official. 

CID chief Mohammad Ali Mia said it was crucial to receive the MLAR response from Kuwait to finish the investigation properly. 

"We need to wait for their reply," he added.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, expressed concern over the unusual delay in receiving a reply from Kuwait. He questioned whether the request was made correctly and raised doubts about the government's sincerity in the matter.

"We have witnessed a foreign ambassador once stating in the media that information is not properly sought from Bangladesh. Moreover, many involved in money laundering are allegedly linked to the ruling party," he added.

He stressed the need for coordinated efforts among various agencies and departments to expedite investigations into such cases. If there is collaboration, he believes information can be obtained through MLAR more efficiently.