Papiya gets 4 years in prison in money laundering case!

The court has sentenced expelled Jubo Mohila League leader Shamima Noor Papiya to four years in prison in a money laundering case. At the same time, she has been fined five lakh taka and sentenced to three months in prison in default. Judge Manjurul Hossain of Dhaka's Special Judge Court No. 8 announced the verdict on Sunday (May 25).

In this case, the court acquitted Papiya's husband Mofizur Rahman alias Sumon Chowdhury, associates Sabbir Khandaker, Sheikh Taiba Noor and Zubair Alam as the charges against them were not proven. However, the court canceled Papiya's bail and issued an arrest warrant along with a sentence, said court bench assistant Fazlur Rahman.

Papiya did not appear in court on the day of the verdict. Although her lawyer asked for time citing illness, the judge rejected the application. Among the five accused in the case, Zubair Alam has been absconding since the beginning, but the other three appeared in court on Sunday on bail.

It is worth noting that on February 22, 2020, RAB arrested Shamima Noor Papia and her husband from Shahjalal International Airport. Seven passports, 2 lakh 12 thousand taka, fake notes of 25 thousand taka, 11 thousand 481 dollars, foreign currency and two debit cards were seized from them. Then, a raid was conducted at the Farmgate house and a foreign pistol, bullets, foreign liquor, 5.8 million taka in cash and various bank cards were recovered.

RAB had said that Papia used to engage in anti-social activities by renting the Westin Hotel in Gulshan and paying bills with that money, which was more than crores of taka.

Several cases were filed against Papia and her husband, including two cases under the Arms and Narcotics Act at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station, a case under the Special Powers Act at the Airport Police Station and a case under the Money Laundering Act at the Gulshan Police Station. In addition, the ACC has also filed a case against them for illegal assets.

The CID filed a chargesheet on December 27, 2021 in a money laundering case filed at Gulshan Police Station. Then, on August 21, 2022, charges were framed against them and the trial began. During the trial of the case, the judge announced the verdict on Sunday after taking the testimony of 27 witnesses.