Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul, an independent Member of Parliament from Laxmipur-2 constituency, had 5 million Kuwaiti dinars ($16.25 million) in assets in Kuwait, which the local authorities have now frozen, reports Gulf News quoting several Kuwaiti media.
The Bangladeshi lawmaker is currently being held in Kuwait on charges of human trafficking and money laundering. The accused runs the Marafie Kuwaitia Group as the managing director and CEO.
Sources close to the investigation told local news outlet Al Qabas that Kuwaiti authorities have imposed a freeze on the bank accounts of Kazi Papul and his company.
"The balance of the company is about five million dinars, of which three million dinars is the capital of the company," sources revealed.
They said the freezing of assets is part of a legal measure to prevent the Bangladeshi lawmaker from moving his assets beyond the jurisdiction of a court in Kuwait. “It is variously construed as part of a court’s inherent jurisdiction to restrain breaches of its process,” the sources added.
It was further reported by the Kuwaiti media that the residency investigation officers, acting on a warrant, had seized all the funds in the company’s treasury, all documents and correspondence, in addition to footage from the surveillance cameras to identify any potential accomplice of the defendant.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Kuwait on June 7 arrested Lakshmipur-2 MP Kazi Papul on charges of human trafficking and money laundering from his residence in the Mushrif area in Kuwait.
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladesh on June 9 sent letters to Kazi Papul, his wife, daughter and sister-in-law asking them to submit their personal documents including national identity cards, passports, TIN certificates, and copies of income tax returns as a part of the investigation.
Later, on June 17, The ACC imposed a travel ban on Kazi Papul and three members of his family.
