HC acquits GK Shamim of 10-year jail sentence in money laundering case

The High Court has acquitted expelled Jubo League leader GK Shamim of a 10-year prison sentence imposed in a money laundering case involving Tk 195 crore allegedly laundered to Singapore and Malaysia.

A bench comprising Justice A.S.M. Abdul Mobin and Justice Md. Zobid Hossain accepted Shamim’s appeal and granted him bail on Thursday, overturning the July 17, 2023 verdict of a Dhaka court that had sentenced him to 10 years behind bars.

In the original ruling, Judge Md. Nazrul Islam of Dhaka Special Court-10 had stated that the prosecution proved the charges against Shamim and others and that the sentence was warranted.

The case against Shamim and his seven bodyguards was formally framed on November 10, 2020. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted the charge sheet on August 4, 2020.

According to Abu Saeed, Additional Special Superintendent of CID’s Economic Crime Unit and the investigation officer, Shamim had approximately Tk 337.3 crore in 180 fixed deposit accounts held across various banks and properties including two houses. He also owns 52 kathas (about 0.85 acres) of land in Dhaka valued at Tk 41 crore.

The charges allege that Shamim amassed his wealth through tender manipulation in government offices and extortion at bus terminals and cattle markets.

On September 20, 2019, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Shamim on charges of extortion and tender rigging. His bodyguards were also taken into custody. Following the arrests, RAB filed three cases against him at the Gulshan police station.

In a related case, on September 25 last year, a Dhaka tribunal sentenced Shamim and his seven bodyguards to life imprisonment on weapons charges.