Selim Pradhan sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for illegal wealth acquisition

The court has sentenced Selim Pradhan, one of the founders of the casino scandal, to 8 years imprisonment in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on charges of acquiring illegal wealth. Judge Badrul Alam of Dhaka Special Judge Court-8 announced the verdict on Sunday.

Selim Pradhan was arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in September during an anti-casino operation in the capital in 2019. On October 27 of the same year, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan filed a case against him on charges of illegal acquisition.

Selim Pradhan was initially accused of acquiring the illegal wealth of Tk 12 crore 27 lakh 95 thousand 754. After investigating the case, ACC found evidence of illegal assets of more than 57 crore taka under his name. Following this, on October 31, 2021, Judge Md. Al Asad  Asifuzzaman's of Dhaka Special Judge Court-6 court ordered the trial to begin by filing a complaint in the presence of Selim.

In the charge sheet of the case, it is said that Selim Pradhan acquired a total wealth of Tk 57 crore 41 lakh and 48 thousand through corruption and casino. Out of this, there are movable and immovable assets of Tk 35 crore 41 lakh and 97 thousand. Apart from this, the complaint further states that he smuggled Tk 21 crore and 99 lakh to Thailand and the United States out of the money he earned by playing casino.

Selim Pradhan, chairman of Japan-Bangladesh Security Printing Papers, has a 40 percent stake. In the investigation of ACC, a share money deposit of Tk 23 crore 55 lakh 84 thousand and 650 is found under his name. He earned this money illegally.

He mentioned in his personal income tax document that Japan-Bangladesh Security Printing Papers Company made a profit of 1 crore 46 lakh 21 thousand and 72 taka in 2011 but took a loan of 8 crore taka in the 2011-12 fiscal year. However, Selim could not show any record of how he took the loan from that company.