News Desk :
Kuwait’s Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced Bangladeshi lawmaker Kazi Shahidul Islam Papul to four years in jail, reports Kuwaiti newspaper Alqabas.
The Court headed by Counselor Abdullah Al-Othman issued the judgment in the sensational human-trafficking and money-laundering cases.
The court also sentenced Kuwaiti official Maj Gen Mazen Al-Jarrah and the last mediator and agent.
They were further fined 1.9 million Kuwaiti dinars.
Kuwaiti MP Saadoun Hammad and former MP Salah Khorshid were acquitted in the cases.
Kuwait’s Criminal Investigation Department had arrested Shahid, an independent lawmaker from Laxmipur-2, and also the managing director and CEO of Marafie Kuwaitia Group.
He was accused of charging each foreign worker, mostly from Bangladesh, up to 3,000 dinars in exchange for taking them to Kuwait. Many of them, however, alleged they were not provided with the jobs and wages as promised.
Shahid has since confessed to bribing millions of dollars to Kuwaiti officials for recruiting Bangladeshi workers and getting contracts for his company.
In response to a complaint filed on February 16, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission opened an inquiry into an allegation that Shahid amassed Tk 1,400 crore by trafficking people to Kuwait and laundered the money to different countries.
