Mohammad Shahid Islam, widely known as Kazi Papul, has been arrested in Kuwait by the country’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on charges of human trafficking and money laundering.
According to several sources from the Bangladeshi community in Kuwait, the independent lawmaker was arrested from his home in Mushrif residential area in Kuwait City around 9:30pm local time on Saturday.
Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen told Dhaka Tribune on Sunday afternoon that the Bangladesh ambassador in Kuwait informed him of Papul’s arrest in a case filed over his businesses there.
Earlier in the day, Ambassador SM Abul Kalam had said that he heard the news in the morning. “There are some reports of human trafficking allegations against him [Papul].”
According to sources, after the coronavirus outbreak in Kuwait, the intelligence agencies arrested more than 100 people from different countries for their involvement in human trafficking and money laundering. Papul’s name was also on that list of arrestees.
The independent lawmaker has been staying in Kuwait, where he has some big businesses, since late March, sources said.
However, Selina Islam, his wife and an independent reserve seat lawmaker herself, claimed the news of his arrest was nothing but a rumour.
“This is a rumour. Some people are spreading this on social media,” she asserted.
Reached for comment, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammed Shahriar Alam said: “We do not know anything officially. Our embassy is checking with the local authority.”
“Even a convict is entitled to receive consular support from the home country by law. It’s unpleasant,” he told Dhaka Tribune over the phone on Sunday afternoon
In February, different media outlets had reported on allegations against Shahid for human trafficking to Kuwait.
According to media reports in Kuwait, security authorities in the country were looking for a Bangladeshi parliamentarian who was allegedly involved in illegal visa trading.
The parliamentarian is believed to have gifted five expensive cars to senior government officials in Kuwait to get government contracts for the company he runs there, the reports said.
At the time, Foreign Minister Momen had called the reports fake, saying that the Bangladeshi mission in Kuwait did not inform them about anything like that.
An Anti-Corruption Commission investigation against Kazi Papul is also underway on allegations of corruption, including amassing illegal wealth through human trafficking.
Al-Qabas, a daily which quoted the Ministry of Interior of Kuwait, reported that an unidentified Bangladeshi was arrested in February based on allegations of money laundering and human trafficking.
He is said to be a member of a three-member gang while the other two fled the country sensing impending trouble.
The trio allegedly occupied sensitive positions in three major companies that brought more than 20,000 Bangladeshi menial workers to Kuwait in exchange for large sums of money believed to be more than 50 million dinars.
The unidentified Bangladeshi disclosed the name of a Bangladeshi lawmaker during interrogation, the daily reported.
In conversation with officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait, Dhaka Tribune learnt that the parliamentarian in question is Mohammad Shahid Islam.
Business identities
Mohammad Shahid Islam is a partner, managing director, and chief executive officer (CEO) of Marafie Kuwaitia Group, which operates in sectors such as engineering, contracting, logistics and facility management in Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan.
The first time Shahid went to Kuwait was in 1992 when he joined a US-based company called Vector Marketing. He later joined Marafie Kuwaitia Company as general manager and later was appointed as managing director and CEO of the company.
The company offers nearly a dozen different services, including facility management, rental and leasing of heavy equipment, military logistics, electro-mechanical, electrical construction and engineering and maintenance, as well as general trading and contracting, and providing human resources support services.
He is also the vice-chairman at NRB Commercial Bank and chairman of NRB Security Exchange Company in Bangladesh. He is also a director at Crystal Energy Limited (CEL) in Bangladesh, Omera Energy in Singapore, and United Al-Ektesad International Money Remittance Company.
Shahid has shares worth Tk26 crore in Diganta Media Corporation Limited, according to documents obtained by Dhaka Tribune.
Moreover, it is also alleged that he conducted businesses with Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali, who was executed for war crimes committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971.
However, Shahid said he invested in Diganta Media Corporation Limited following a request from one of his relatives, and that it was a failed investment.
The rise of Shahid in politics
Someone who had no previous political background, Shahid suddenly appeared on the political landscape of Lakshmipur, three years prior to the 11th parliamentary elections.
In November 2016, Shahid organized a view-exchange program in Raipur upazila where he introduced himself as the convener of Kuwait unit Awami League and announced the launch of various social and voluntary activities.
When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Lakshmipur in March 2017, he received a seat on the same stage as the premier, as a guest at a public rally organized by the district Awami League. Later, he continued to donate money for different programs organized by the ruling party’s upazila and union units.
Soon, Shahid became the elected representative for Lakshmipur 2 constituency, while he also made sure that his wife Selina became a parliamentarian, thanks to reserved seats for women. He used to visit the locality on a helicopter to attract the attention of people, but Shahid claimed that his intentions were purely that of social service, and not politics.
Allegations baseless, claims Shahid
In February, lawmaker Shahid Islam claimed that all the allegations were false and baseless.
“I am doing business in Kuwait for the last 30 years, mostly for the supply of heavy equipment. Staff from 29 countries are employed at my companies in Kuwait,” he said.
“I do not have a recruiting agency in my name in Bangladesh,” he said, claiming that some people who were jealous of his success as a lawmaker were spreading misinformation and lies.
“I did return to Bangladesh on February 8, but not for any problem there [Kuwait],” Shahid added
Source: Dhaka Tribune
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