The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has frozen around half a century bank accounts of online casino Kingpin Selim Pradhan while probing into illegal wealth earned by running online gambling sites.
Over the course of investigation, ACC finds substantial proof of owning business in Thailand including four companies listed therein by Selim Pradhan along with owning companies like Pradhan Global Trade, Asia United Entertainment and Pataiya Company Limited.
Selim Pradhan built his empire in Thailand by the wealth earned from casino business and money laundering, said ACC.
While talking to The Business Post on Sunday ACC Commissioner Mozammel Haque Khan said, "ACC freezes all the moveable and immovable assets of Selim Pradhan including more than fifty bank accounts used to manage his earnings from casino business. We are now investigating into the money laundering issue and investigators will soon submit their reports to the commission".
As per sources, Selim Pradhan deposited Tk 20 crore in Bangkok Bank and in another bank.
ACC investigation team also found proof of transactions in two bank accounts of Selim Pradhan located in the USA-based JP Morgan.
Evidence shows that Selim Pradhan used to play casino in Las Vegas and managed to bring casino chips here with the expense of crores of taka.
ACC has already sent Mutual Legal Assistance Requests (MLAR) through Attorney General's office to the USA and Thailand and MLAR will be sent to other countries as well.
Earlier on September 10, Bangladesh Bank blocked 27 bank accounts of Selim Pradhan on the request of ACC.
On October, 27, ACC filed case against Selim Pradhan over the allegation of acquiring illegal wealth worth over Tk 12.27 crore and he was placed on a seven-day remand.
Selim Pradhan disclosed information about his income and where those money has been kept during the remand, said an ACC official.
Selim Pradhan was arrested by the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on September 30 of last year from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport while trying to flee the country for Thailand. Later, RAB searched his home and office at Gulshan and Banani with him and seized Tk 29 lakh in cash along with huge amount of foreign liquors.
On the same day, Selim Pradhan was sentenced six months imprisonment by a mobile court for illegally possessing deer skin.
sh/wi
