Lakshmipur 2 MP 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 there, Shahid was arrested from his home in Mushrif residential area around 9:30pm (Kuwait time) on Saturday.
Talking to Dhaka Tribune on Sunday afternoon, Bangladesh Ambassador in Kuwait SM Abul Kalam said: "I have heard the news this morning that CID arrested him, but I am yet to get any official confirmation."
"There are some reports of human trafficking allegations against him [Shahid Islam]," the ambassador added.
According to sources, after the coronavirus outbreak in Kuwait, the intelligence agencies arrested more than 100 people of different countries for their involvement in human trafficking and money laundering. The name of Shahid Islam was also in that list as he has some big businesses in Kuwait.
The lawmaker has been staying in Kuwait since late March, according to sources.
In February, different media outlets 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.
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 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.
