NBR seeks bank account details of S Alam's family 

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has asked banks and non-bank financial institutions to provide account details of Saiful Alam Masud, chairman of the controversial S Alam Group, along with his family members and business entities.

In a letter issued to 91 banks and non-bank financial institutions yesterday (14 August), the Tax Zone-15 sought bank details of S Alam's wife Farzana Parvin, mother Chemon Ara Begum and brother Abdullah Hasan.

Additionally, information was requested regarding the bank accounts of their parents, children, siblings, as well as the business entities they own.

Although the letter did not specifically mention S Alam's name, Ahsan Habib, the commissioner of Tax Zone-15, clarified that the request also included his bank details.

"The three names we mentioned in the letter are currently under our tax zone. However, since we included joint accounts of siblings, parents, and children, it covers the bank account details of all family members, including S Alam's accounts," he told The Business Standard today (15 August).

The letter, however, did not specify a deadline for providing the account details.

There are allegations that the business group benefited from banks by securing thousands of crores of taka.

A report titled "How S Alam Group took advantage of Islami Bank to take out Tk45,000cr loan" published by The Business Standard yesterday revealed that the group secured thousands of crores in loans, including for a closed factory, non-existent companies, and even a tin shop, from the bank.

Saiful Alam Masud, chairman of the S Alam Group, has honed a unique style of minting money. His strategy often involves forming new companies or acquiring struggling ones, then securing loans worth hundreds of crores of taka in the names of these paper-based entities.