Money laundering becomes serious crime: SC

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that there was no scope to consider money-laundering cases lightly as this has become a serious financial crime nowadays.
A five-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the observation while hearing four separate leave-to-appeal petitions filed by the state.
The pleas challenged the High Court (HC) orders that granted bail to Dhaka Wanderers Club general secretary Joy Gopal Sarkar in four money-laundering cases.
On the day, the Appellate Division scrapped the bail orders and asked the lower courts concerned to complete the trial proceedings of these cases in one year.
Lawyer Momtaz Uddin Fakir stood for Mr Sarkar while additional attorney general Sk Md Morshed represented the state and advocate Khurshid Alam Khan appeared for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
On August 19, the HC bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice SM Mozibur Rahman granted bail in the cases following four bail petitions filed by Mr Sarkar.
Later, the state filed four separate leave-to-appeal petitions against the HC orders which came into the cause-list on Tuesday for hearing.
Mr Sarkar was arrested on July 14 last year in connection with five money-laundering cases filed with different police stations, including Wari and Sutrapur stations, on various dates in 2019 and 2020.
Later, another case was filed against Joy Gopal with Bangshal police station on August 31 last year, said deputy attorney general AKM Amin Uddin Manik.