Money laundering case: South Korean associate of casino ‘kingpin’ Salim Prodhan denied bail

The High Court today refused to grant bail to South Korean national Youngsik Lee, an associate of online casino "kingpin" Salim Prodhan, in a money laundering case.

The High Court bench of Justice JBM Hassan passed "no order" on a petition filed by Lee seeking bail in the case.

The judge virtually heard arguments from the lawyers on the petition through digital services.

The High Court's "no order" means that Lee has been denied bail and he cannot get released from jail, Anti-Corruption Commission's lawyer Advocate Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star.

He said the law enforcers arrested Lee on January 22 this year in connection with the money laundering case in which Salim Prodhan is the main accused.

Lee's lawyer Advocate Sharif Ahmed told this correspondent that he will move the same bail petition before a regular High Court bench when the court will reopen after the ongoing closure.            

On September 28 last year, Salim Prodhan was arrested from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport while he was attempting to flee the country.

Based on information, law enforcers conducted a 20-hour raid at his Gulshan office and Banani residence on that day.

During the raid, the law enforcers seized around Tk 29 lakh, currencies of 23 countries worth Tk 77.63 lakh, 32 cheque books of three banks, five credit cards, two pieces of spotted deer hide and 48 bottles of foreign liquor.

One server, four laptops and a desktop computer used for the gambling operations were also seized during the raids.

On October 2 last year, the ACC filed the case with Gulshan Police Station against Salim Prodhan and his associates on charge of money laundering, Advocate Khurshid Alarm Khan said.

Deputy Attorney General Bashir Ahmed represented the state during hearing.