The High Court on Sunday directed the Anti-Corruption Commission chairman to submit a progress report on the investigation into money laundering allegations against S Alam Group chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen.
A vacation bench of Justice Md Kamrul Hossain Mollah and Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque issued the order during a hearing on a writ petition filed the previous week by lawyer Md Rukunuzzaman.
Rukunuzzaman prayed an inquiry into the offshore investments amounting to Tk 11,000 crore, allegedly made by Saiful Alam, his wife, and other shareholders of the S Alam Group.
The court instructed the anti-corruption commission鈥檚 lawyer Shaheen Ahmed to convey the directive, setting the next hearing for September 29.
The allegations surfaced in August 2023, prompting a suo moto order by the High Court calling for an inquiry.
On February 5, 2024, however, the Appellate Division quashed the High Court order.
Despite this, the Appellate Division underscored that both the commission and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit of Bangladesh Bank retained the authority to investigate the matter if deemed necessary.
During Sunday鈥檚 hearing, commission counsel Shaheen Ahmed informed the court that the commission had already initiated an investigation.
On August 20, the anti-corruption commission formed a three-member inquiry team, led by its Money Laundering Wing deputy director Md Nur-E-Alam, to probe the allegations of laundering money to Singapore.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, on August 26, sought bank account details of 13 individuals, including seven brothers of S Alam Group鈥檚 chairman, by sending letters to all banks.
The requested information includes among other pertinent details account transactions and national identification numbers.
On August 30, the Criminal Investigation Department announced that it had launched a probe into Saiful Alam, his wife, and their two sons, Ahsanul Alam and Ashraful Alam. They are accused of laundering Tk 1,13,245 crore through fraudulence, including over-invoicing, under-invoicing, and using informal money transfer systems like hundi.
The CID鈥檚 Financial Crime Unit primarily found the family鈥檚 involvement in significant money laundering.
A CID press release revealed that the family had allegedly laundered funds worth Tk 245.74 crore to Singapore.
Besides, the release added that they laundered money to Malaysia and several European countries also by establishing fake companies, including Canali Logistics Pte Ltd.
Additionally, Saiful Alam allegedly laundered Tk 95,000 crore through loans obtained from six banks using forged documents.
The CID claims that another Tk 18,000 crore was siphoned off through offshore banking using shell companies.
The S Alam Group, aided and abetted by state agencies, is accused of orchestrating a hostile takeover of six banks since 2017鈥擨slami Bank, Social Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank, and Bangladesh Commerce Bank.
The group reportedly removed several founding shareholders and directors to assume control, especially over Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, the country鈥檚 largest Sharia-based bank.
In the wake of a student-led mass uprising on August 5 which led then prime minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India, the group鈥檚 grip over these banks weakened.
The Bangladesh Bank dissolved the boards of four banks under S Alam Group鈥檚 control and appointed independent directors to manage the institutions, citing irregularities in loan disbursement and recruitment.
At a press conference on August 28, central bank governor Ahsan H Masur described the S Alam Group鈥檚 activities as the largest financial scandal in Bangladesh鈥檚 history, with the group allegedly siphoning off around Tk 2 lakh crore ($16.6 billion).
The ongoing investigation continues to unravel the extent of financial irregularities involving the S Alam Group, as authorities seek to recover the laundered assets.
