Expelled AL leaders Enu, Rupon get 7 years in jail for money laundering

A Dhaka court has jailed former Gendaria Awami League leaders Enamul Haque Enu and his brother Rupon Bhuiyan for seven years in a money laundering case.

In addition to the jail time, they have been fined Tk 528.8 million. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months in jail.

Judge Badrul Alam Bhuiyan of Dhaka's Special Court-8 delivered the verdict on Tuesday.

Six other suspects in the case were acquitted, according to Fazlur Rahman, a court official.

Mizanur Rahman, the lawyer for the convicts, said an appeal would be filed against the verdict.

The brothers had received a seven-year jail term in another money laundering case in 2022. They have been in jail ever since.

Enu and his brother Rupon were arrested on Jan 13, 2020 during a raid at the height of the casino scandal in sports and recreational clubs in Dhaka.

They were subsequently named in 12 cases with different police stations across the capital on charges relating to the illegal accumulation of wealth and money laundering.

On Sept 24, 2019, the RAB recovered Tk 50 million in cash, 8 kg gold and six firearms following raids on Enu and Rupon’s homes, and two houses of their staff and a friend.

The elite police unit claimed the recovered items were bought with the illegal funds they had amassed from the casino business.

Enu, a shareholder of Dhaka Wanderers’ Club – one of the first establishments busted during the crackdown on casino operations - was the vice-president of Gendaria Thana Awami League. His brother Rupon was its joint general secretary.