A Dhaka court has sentenced expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Noor Papiya to four years’ rigorous imprisonment in a money laundering case filed with Gulshan Police Station.
On Sunday (May 25), Dhaka Special Judge Court-8 Judge Md Manjurul Hossain delivered the verdict, also ordering Papiya to pay a fine of Tk 5 lakh, or face an additional three months’ simple imprisonment in default.
While Papiya was convicted, her husband Mofizur Rahman alias Suman Chowdhury, and associates Sabbir Khandakar, Sheikh Taiba Noor, and Jubayer Alam were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
According to Papiya’s lawyer, Shakhawat Ullah Bhuiyan, this is the second verdict in a case against her. Due to illness, Papiya did not appear in court. Her lawyer appealed for time, which the court rejected, issuing both a conviction and an arrest warrant, canceling her bail.
Among the co-accused, Jubayer remains absconding, while the other three, out on bail, were present in court.
Court bench assistant Fazlur Rahman confirmed that the arrest warrant was issued along with the sentencing.
Papiya and three others were initially arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on February 22, 2020, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for carrying counterfeit currency and attempting to smuggle illegal money. Authorities recovered seven passports, Tk 2.12 lakh in Bangladeshi currency, Tk 25,600 in fake notes, foreign currency including US dollars, and several mobile phones.
The next day, RAB raided her Indira Road residence, recovering a foreign pistol, magazines, bullets, alcohol, Tk 58.41 lakh in cash, multiple passports, cheque books, foreign currencies, and ATM cards.
Following the raids, multiple cases were filed against Papiya and her husband under the Arms Act, Narcotics Control Act, Special Powers Act, and Anti-Corruption Commission laws.
On December 27, 2021, CID Inspector Ibrahim Hossain submitted a charge sheet against the five accused in the money laundering case. The trial began on August 21, 2022, during which the court heard 27 witnesses before concluding with Sunday’s judgment.
Notably, on October 12, 2020, Papiya and her husband were sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in a separate arms case by Dhaka’s Special Tribunal-1.
LND/BG
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