Kuwait slaps travel ban on businesswoman over links to Bangladesh MP Shahid

Kuwait's public prosecution has imposed a travel ban on a local businesswoman over her suspected ties to Bangladeshi MP Muhammad Shahid Islam, nicknamed Papul, who has been detained on charges of human trafficking and money laundering.

The woman has been released on bail but faces charges of bribery and money laundering, according to an Arab Times report run by bdnews24.com.

She is the sister of a senior Kuwaiti government official and owns a company that has earned government contracts exceeding several million dinars, local newspaper Al-Seyassah reports.

The woman was grilled by prosecutors for more than an hour and a half after being summoned for her links with the Bangladeshi lawmaker.

Shahid has been sent to Kuwait's central prison for 21 days after 17 days of interrogations by Kuwaiti prosecutors.

Kuwait earlier froze the bank accounts of Shahid and his company following his arrest on charges of human trafficking and money laundering. Shahid's company account holds about five million Kuwaiti dinars, or Tk 1.38 billion.

The move aims to stop Shahid from withdrawing or transferring money from these accounts from which funds will be confiscated if the charges are proved in court, prosecutors said.

The public prosecutor in Kuwait decided to continue the imprisonment of the remaining suspects.

Lakshmipur-2 MP Shahid was arrested on June 8 in Kuwait’s Musharraf area. Having travelled to Kuwait as a migrant worker, Shahid now has permanent resident status and runs his own business there. His wife Salina Islam is also an MP in Bangladesh from a seat reserved for women.

The prosecution brought the charges against Shahid after hearing testimonies of five Bangladeshi workers. They claimed to have paid up to 3,000 dinars in exchange for being brought to Kuwait. They were also paying annual sums to renew their residency visas.

The Bangladeshi witnesses the MP was like a "mafia boss who demanded ‘taxes’ from poor, low-income workers".

Shahid provided 1.1 million dinars ($3.58 million) by cheque to an official at Kuwait's Ministry of Interior, one million dinars ($3.25 million) in cash to another official, in addition to “bags” of millions of dinars in cash to a third official, Kuwaiti media reported.

The government later suspended 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 trafficking in persons.

Kuwaiti media also accused the Bangladeshi MP of trading visas and siphoning off money to the US.

According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, Shahid is part of a three-member racket whose members include his wife.