Online gambling kingpin Salim Prodhan jailed for 8 years
The court observed that it is not possible to remove corruption from the society only by punishment
A Dhaka court has awarded Salim Pradhan, known as the kingpin of an online gambling platform, eight years imprisonment and a fine of Tk11 lakh in the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) case.
Judge Md Badrul Alam Bhuiyan of Dhaka Special Judge Court-8 on Sunday announced four years of imprisonment and a fine of Tk1,00,000 for obtaining illegal assets and four years of imprisonment and a fine of Tk10,00,000 under the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
Both sentences will run concurrently, the judgment said.
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His wife, a Russian, was also present in the court.
During the announcement of summary judgment, the court observed, "It is not possible to remove corruption from the society only by punishment. Do not marry your children off to corrupt people. Do not any programme arranged by them."
After the verdict was announced, Salim Pradhan was ordered to be sent to prison.
Salim's name came into the discussion as the kingpin of the online casino business in Bangladesh.
He used to run a gambling business while staying in Thailand and often come to Bangladesh.
RAB-1 arrested Salim Pradhan from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on 30 September 2019 during an anti-casino operation. Then raids were conducted at his house and office in Gulshan and Banani. Tk29 lakh, a large quantity of foreign liquor and coins of various countries and deer skins were seized in the raid.
The mobile court sentenced him to six months imprisonment under the Wildlife Protection Act on the same day in connection with the recovery of deer skin.
On 27 October of the same year, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar filed a case against Salim. In this case, he was initially accused of acquiring an illegal wealth of Tk12 crore 27 lakh 95 thousand 754. After investigating the case, the investigating officer found evidence of illegal assets of more than Tk57 crore in his name.
On 31 October 2021, Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman of Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 ordered the trial to begin by filing a complaint in the presence of Salim.
