The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior says the reports of Bangladeshi MP Shahid Islam obtaining Kuwaiti citizenship are “incorrect”.

The clarification came as the cases in which Shahid faces charges of human trafficking and money laundering roiled both Bangladesh and Kuwait.

Shahid resides in Kuwait according to the Aliens Residence Law, and was referred to the public prosecution as a defendant in several cases, the interior ministry said on its website.

The administration called on all media and social media to be accurate in its news, confirming that its doors are open around the clock to respond to any inquiry related to security affairs.

Shahid, MP of Lakshmipur-2 seat, was arrested in Kuwait on Jun 6. The Kuwait prosecutors charged Shahid with human trafficking, money laundering and torture on employees of his company, based on the complaints from five Bangladeshi nationals subjected to trafficking.

The Bangladesh MP confessed to bribing Kuwait officials and his statement has been published in different media outlets.

The investigators have identified seven accomplices of Shahid, including two Kuwait parliamentarians and one former parliamentarian. Calls for bringing them under the law have grown louder in Kuwait.

Shahid migrated to Kuwait as a worker and made fortunes from running trafficking rings. He won the national election in 2018 as an independent candidate. Also, he managed to get his wife Selina Islam to parliament as an MP from a reserved seat.

He is the CEO of Marafie Kuwaitia Group in Kuwait and a sponsor shareholder of Dhaka-based NRB Commercial Bank.

https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/07/09/bangladesh-mp-shahid-is-not-a-kuwaiti-citizen-ministry