Casino Enu, Rupon among 11 Get 7 Years of Imprisonment

A Dhaka court today has sentenced 11 people including Enamul Haque Bhuiyan alias Enu and Rupon Bhuiyan, two brothers from Old Dhaka, also known as ‘Casino Brothers’, to seven years in prison in a money laundering case filed by the Wari Police Station in the capital.

Judge Iqbal Hossain of the Special Judge Court-5 of Dhaka handed over the verdict on Monday.

The other convicts are — Joy Gopal Sarkar, Merajul Haque Bhuiyan Shiplu, Rashidul Haque Bhuiyan, Sahidul Haque Bhuiyan, Pavel Rahman, Tuhin Munshi, Abul Kalam Azad, Nabir Hossain Sikder and Saiful Islam.

Among the accused — Shiplu, Rashidul, Sahidul and Pavel have been absconding since the beginning of the case. Tuhin is out on bail. The other six accused are in jail.

Observing the verdict, the judge said money laundering was “undoubtedly a serious threat” to the rule of law and the sustainable development of the country...Casino gambling and business have become a “back door” for money laundering in the dirty financial system for organized crime. Illegal gambling activities are particularly serious as this has used to finance other activities including smuggling, extortion and fraud. If money laundering crimes are not controlled, this can “destabilize” the financial system and undermine development efforts in emerging markets. Appropriate punishment can therefore deter the accused from committing money laundering offenses.

Earlier, the verdict was scheduled for April 6. However, the verdict was not passed on that day as Judge Iqbal Hossain was on leave. Later, Acting Judge Monir Kamal set April 25 for the verdict.

According to the lawsuit, RAB cordoned off the house of Abul Kalam Azad, an employee of Wanderers Club, at Lalmohan Saha Street in Wari on September 24, 2019, in an anti-casino drive.

According to Kalam’s wife and daughter, two crore takas were recovered from the second floor of the house. RAB-3 police inspector (city and vehicle) Ziaul Hasan filed a case with Wari police station on November 25 over the incident.

The lawsuit alleges that Enu and Rupon “made a fortune” by operating a casino for a long time. During the anti-casino drive, they kept illegally earned money in Kalam’s house to cover up their misdeeds. Kalam keeps them to himself, which is a crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

After investigating the case, CID inspector Mohammad Sadek Ali filed a chargesheet against 11 people on July 21, 2020.

The court then framed charges against the accused on January 5 last year (2021). During the trial, the court took the testimony of 10 out of 20 witnesses.