A Sylhet court has sentenced a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin to eight years in prison in a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) under the Money Laundering Prevention Act. The four convicted individuals have also been fined a total of Tk 87.80 crore. Additionally, his wife, brother-in-law, and uncle, who reside in Sylhet, have each been sentenced to four years in prison.

On Saturday morning, ACC Sylhet Court Inspector Md. Zahidul Islam confirmed the verdict. Earlier, on Thursday, Judge Shahadat Hossain Pramanik of the Divisional Special Judge’s Court in Sylhet delivered the verdict.

The convicted individuals are Misbah Uddin, also known as Robin Chowdhury, a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin; his wife Shahida Begum Shanti; his brother-in-law Ripon Siraj; and his uncle Abdul Khaleq, also known as Makhan Uddin. Misbah has been sentenced to eight years in prison, while Shahida, Ripon, and Khaleq have each been sentenced to four years. In addition, all four convicts have been fined Tk 87.80 crore.

Following the verdict, Misbah Uddin and two other convicts were sent to prison, while Shahida Begum remains on the run. The court has issued an arrest warrant against her.

According to ACC sources, on June 6, 2012, based on a letter from the UK Home Office, the Bangladesh Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit decided to investigate Misbah Uddin Chowdhury.

The investigation revealed that while working as a manager at a company in London between 2007 and 2008, Misbah and his associates fraudulently obtained over £5 million through 13 fake mortgage applications, a significant portion of which was sent to Bangladesh.

The ACC stated that Misbah Uddin was arrested in August 2011 by the London police on charges of fraud, deception, and abuse of position.

Before his arrest, Misbah changed his name to Robin Chowdhury and obtained a UK passport and driving license under this new identity.

The ACC further revealed that Misbah laundered money by transferring fraudulent mortgage loan funds between different banks, depositing the money in his own, his wife’s, and his father’s bank accounts, and investing in fixed deposits (FDRs), share purchases, flat acquisitions, and stock market investments.

As a result, the ACC filed a case against him.

After completing the investigation, on February 1, 2016, Md. Farid Ahmed Patwari, Deputy Director of the ACC Headquarters, submitted the charge sheet under the Money Laundering Prevention Act. One of the accused, Abdur Rahim, passed away, leading the court to drop charges against him on May 14, 2017.

According to Md. Zahidul Islam, the ACC Sylhet Court Inspector, the court has sentenced the four accused to rigorous imprisonment and has set February 12, 2026, as the deadline for paying the fines.

If the convicts fail to pay the fines within the stipulated time, they will each face an additional one-year imprisonment. Furthermore, the court has ordered that the seized bank funds, money laundered through illegal transactions, and properties purchased using those funds be confiscated in favor of the state.

Source: Daily NayaDiganta