Samrat gets bail, no bar on release

Expelled Jubo League leader Ismail Hossain Chowdhury Samrat was granted ad-interim bail on Wednesday in a case alleging that between 2011 and 2018, he siphoned off roughly Tk 222 crore and channeled cash to casinos in Singapore and Malaysia.

According to his lawyer, Gazi Zillur Rahman, there is no legal restriction to his release from prison following today's bail judgment.

Because of his health, Samrat was previously granted bail in money laundering, guns, and drugs offenses.

Judge Al Asad Md Asifuzzaman of Dhaka's Special Judge Court-6 granted him release, citing his imprisonment from October 6, 2019.

The judge also ordered Samrat to provide his passport to the court when posting bail.

The charge sheet against Samrat, a "kingpin" of illicit gambling companies in the city, was submitted to the Senior Special Judge's Court of Dhaka on December 7, 2020, by ACC Deputy Director Jahangir Alam, who is also the case's investigation officer (IO).

The ACC filed a case against Samrat with the Integrated District Office-1 of Dhaka on November 12, 2019, for accumulating unlawful wealth of Tk 2.94 crore.