Papia jailed for four years over money laundering

A Dhaka court has sentenced expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Nur Papia to four years in jail for money laundering.

Judge Md Manjurul Hossain of Dhaka Special Judge Court-8 delivered the verdict on Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.

Papia’s husband Mofizur Rahman and her associates Sabbir Khandaker, Sheikh Tayeba Nur, and Zubayer Alam were acquitted in the case due to a lack of evidence.

Her lawyer, Shakhawat Ullah Bhuiyan, said that in addition to the four-year sentence, Papia has been fined Tk 500,000. If she fails to pay, she will serve an additional three months in prison.

Earlier, on Oct 12, 2020, Papia and her husband were sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in another case.

According to her lawyer, Papia was later released on bail by the High Court.

Due to illness, Papia was unable to appear in court on Sunday.

Her lawyer requested more time on her behalf, but the judge rejected the plea.

Among the other four accused, Zubayer has been absconding since the beginning. The other three, who were out on bail, were present in court.

The court's bench assistant Fazlur Rahman said, “The court has cancelled Papia’s bail and issued both a conviction warrant and an arrest warrant against her.”

Papia, who was the general secretary of the Narsingdi district Jubo Mohila League, and her husband Mofizur were arrested on Feb 22, 2020, from Dhaka’s Shahjalal International Airport. She was later expelled from the organisation for life for breaching party discipline.

At the time of their arrest, authorities seized seven passports, Tk 212,270 in cash, counterfeit notes worth Tk 25,600, $11,481, some Sri Lankan and Indian currency, and two debit cards.

Later, a raid on Papia’s flat in Dhaka’s Farmgate area uncovered a foreign pistol, two magazines, 20 bullets, five bottles of imported liquor, Tk 5.84 million in cash, and multiple credit and debit cards. A separate raid was also conducted at her house in Narsingdi.

The Rapid Action Battalion had claimed at the time that Papia used to rent rooms at The Westin Hotel in Gulshan, where she engaged in “immoral activities” and paid hotel bills amounting to over Tk 10 million with the income.

Following their arrest, the RAB filed two separate cases against Papia and her husband at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station under the firearms and narcotics law.

Another case was filed at the Airport Police Station under the Special Powers Act. The police's Criminal Investigation Department also filed a money laundering case against them at Gulshan Police Station.

Later, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Papia for amassing illegal wealth.

In the money laundering case, CID Inspector Ibrahim Hossain submitted the chargesheet against Papia and the others on Dec 27, 2021.

Subsequently, on Aug 21, 2022, the court formally charged the accused and began the trial. During the proceedings, 27 witnesses testified. After the defence hearing and final arguments, the court delivered its verdict on Sunday.