Court orders freezing of 68 bank accounts, confiscation of 16 properties of S Alam
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib issued the order
A Dhaka court today (14 January) directed the authorities concerned to freeze 68 bank accounts of S Alam Group Chairman Md Saiful Alam and his family.
The court also confiscated 16 properties of S Alam, reports BSS.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib issued the order in response to an application moved by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
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ACC Public Prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir confirmed the matter to BSS.
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 in August last year 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.
According to investigators looking into laundering allegations against the group, its Chairman Saiful Alam Masud has established 18 shell companies – typically used for money laundering – in the BVI between 2011 and August 2024, without the required approval from Bangladesh's central bank.
In September, the revenue authorities found that Tk1.09 lakh crore were deposited in accounts across six banks held by various business entities and family members of S Alam.
In addition to the NBR, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), government intelligence agencies, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and other entities are also investigating various irregularities involving the S Alam Group.
Following investigation, the Anti-Corruption Commission, on 10 January, filed a case against 54 people, including two sons of S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam Masud, over the alleged embezzlement of Tk1,114 crore from the Jubilee Road branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC in Chattogram city.
