ACC to question ex-Jubo League leader Sheikh Maruf over casino scam

Sunday 29th December 2019

Maruf, the younger brother to Awami League Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim MP, will have to appear in the ACC headquarters in Dhaka's Segunbagicha on Jan 7 morning.

ACC Director Syed Iqbal Hossain sent a letter to Maruf, a former member of the Jubo League presidium, on Sunday, the national anti-graft watchdog's spokesman Pranab Kumar Bhattacharya said.

After the government launched the crackdown on illegal gambling, extortion, tender rigging, and other crimes in September, the Rapid Action Battalion arrested Salim Prodhan, the owner of Prodhan Group that illegally ran an online casino.

Maruf is a business partner of Salim in P24 Gaming and P24 Law Firm Limited.

The National Board of Revenue on Oct 21 froze bank accounts of Maruf and his wife Sanzida Rahman as the ACC started examining the wealth of nearly 200 people following the drives on illegal casinos.

In the letter to Maruf, the ACC said it was checking allegations of embezzlement of government money by rigging tenders of major projects, amassing money through illegal casino business and laundering these abroad, and achieving wealth beyond known sources.

Maruf could not be reached for his comment on the allegations brought by ACC.