Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has said the arrest of a Bangladeshi lawmaker on foreign soil is shameful for the country.
Momen said: "Our ambassador to Kuwait is yet to give any official information. We want to know what the true story is and what the official version is. We will verify it once we know and we will take action according to our law.”
The Minister made the remarks while discussing the detention of Lakshmipur-2 MP Md Shahid Islam alias Papul in Kuwait on charges of human trafficking, visa fraud and money laundering, reports Bangla Tribune.
Momen said: “Naturally, this is a sad event and very frustrating. There is a lot of discussion about this in Kuwait. This incident should teach us that it is not right to elect someone unqualified as a local representative.”
Despite repeated requests from Dhaka about what is happening in Kuwait, the Kuwaiti mission could not provide any information.
SM Abul Kalam, Bangladesh's ambassador to Kuwait, has been working there for five years but was not able to gather any information from the Kuwaiti government or elsewhere.
Mentioning that Dhaka is receiving all its information regarding the matter from Kuwaiti newspapers, Momen said: "The ambassador told us that they sent the note verbal first, but no one received or talked because of the lockdown. Kuwait has not yet responded.
"There are some weaknesses here," the minister added, referring to the state of the embassy in Kuwait.
Mentioning that steps have been taken to overcome the weakness, he said: "The new ambassador to Kuwait is leaving soon. However, we have told the ambassador in a standing order that if any Bangladeshi falls into such a situation abroad, we will provide consular services.
“If they want consular services, we will provide them. This includes people in our mission meeting with the arrested, providing lawyers, and so on. The ambassador has told us that the arrested has very good lawyers and may not want any lawyers from us," the minister said.
The minister also said: "The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is taking necessary action in our country."
Kuwaiti police arrested Papul on charges of human trafficking, visa trafficking and money laundering on June 7. After a long interrogation, it came to light that Papul amassed his wealth by deceiving people and was assisted by influential government officials in Kuwait through bribes, gifts and other opportunities.
So far, the investigation has revealed that Papul used to earn around Tk60 crore every year, excluding various bribes, gifts and other expenses.
The public prosecutor has also requested the country's central bank to freeze about 5 million Kuwaiti dinars (about Tk140 crore) deposited in the bank by Papul and his company.