Online Desk: A Dhaka court today sentenced casino “kingpin” Salim Prodhan to eight years’ imprisonment in a case filed over amassing Tk 57.79 crore illegally and laundering about Tk 22 crore. Judge Md Badrul Alam Bhuiyan of Dhaka’s Special Judge’s Court-8 handed down the verdict in presence of the convict at the court. The judge also fined him Tk 11 lakh, in default, of which he will have to serve seven months more in jail.

In the verdict, the judge said the prosecution was able to prove the charges brought against the accused beyond any doubt. The judge also said Salim Prodhan amassed his wealth from online casino businesses and laundered money to Thailand and the US. Earlier, the prosecution and defence completed their arguments and the court recorded statements of 37 prosecution witnesses, including complainant of the case. The judge framed charges against Salim Prodhan on October 30 of 2021.

On February 4 of 2021, Anti-Corruption Commission Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan, also the case’s investigation officer, submitted the charge sheet to the Senior Special Judge’s Court of Dhaka. Salim came to the fore in 2019 when law enforcers conducted drives against illegal casino businesses. He was arrested from a Bangkok-bound Thai Airways flight at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on September 30 of 2019, over his alleged involvement in running an online casino business. Later that night, the Rapid Action Battalion raided his office and residence in Gulshan and arrested Salim’s associates Aktaruzzaman, Roman, and Masum.

Rab also recovered 48 bottles of foreign liquor, Tk 28 lakh in cash, foreign currencies from 23 different countries worth around Tk 77 lakh, 12 passports, 32 cheque books of 13 banks, one large server used in game operating, four laptops and two deer hides. A Rab mobile court also sentenced Salim to six-month imprisonment for illegally keeping the deer hides.

Three more cases, including narcotics, were also filed against him and those are now pending with different courts in Dhaka. Soon after the verdict, Salim’s Russian wife Anna Prodhan, who was present at the court, expressed dissatisfaction and said she would challenge it with the higher court.