Court orders freeze on Tk 81.3bn worth of shares owned by S Alam family

A Dhaka court has ordered the attachment of shares worth Tk 81.33 billion owned by controversial tycoon Md Saiful Alam and his family members.

The order was issued on Sunday by Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib in response to a petition from the Anti-Corruption Commission, or ACC.

According to the ACC’s petition, a task force has been formed to investigate allegations of money laundering against S Alam Group boss Saiful Alam and his family.

The ACC’s findings suggest that Saiful and his family members obtained loans from various banks through irregular means, misappropriated the funds, and amassed substantial wealth both in Bangladesh and abroad under their own and family members' names.

Additionally, the ACC has learnt that Saiful and his family members had been attempting to transfer, relocate, or conceal their movable assets.

The ACC argued that if these assets are transferred before the investigation is completed, recovering the misappropriated funds will become significantly more difficult.

“If the assets are moved before a case is filed, charge sheets are submitted, and the trial is completed, the government will not be able to confiscate the illegally acquired wealth as part of sentencing. This is why freezing these assets is necessary,” the ACC said.

Earlier, on Oct 7, the court imposed a travel ban on Saiful, his wife Farzana Parveen and 12 other family members.

On Jan 16, the same court ordered the freezing of shares worth Tk 35.64 billion held by Saiful and his family. Then, on Feb 3, the court ordered the seizure of 175 bighas of land valued at Tk 3.68 billion. On Feb 12, the court froze shares worth Tk 510.9 billion across 42 companies linked to Saiful and his family.

After the fall of the Awami League government during the student-led mass uprising last year, allegations of financial irregularities involving S Alam Group -- widely viewed as a beneficiary of the ousted regime -- have surfaced.

Government agencies have launched investigations into various allegations against Saiful, including banking irregularities, money laundering, and tax evasion. The ACC has also initiated a probe into allegations of illegally acquired wealth.

Saiful has long faced accusations of forcibly taking control of Islami Bank with the support of influential figures in the Sheikh Hasina administration. He and his business group later assumed control of the boards of several other Shariah-based banks.

He is also accused of siphoning off vast sums of money from these banks through fraudulent loans issued under fictitious or non-existent companies and laundering the funds abroad.

Authorities have already frozen the bank accounts of Saiful and his family. Their Beneficiary Owner accounts have also been frozen, halting their stock transactions.