Special Correspondent :
Courts in Dhaka and Chattogram have taken sweeping legal action against S Alam Group Chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam, his family members, and senior officials of the business conglomerate, amid mounting allegations of money laundering and loan defaults involving thousands of crores of taka.
In Dhaka, Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib on Thursday ordered the freezing of Saiful Alam’s foreign investments, bank accounts, and insurance policies in Singapore, following a petition by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Sub-Inspector Tahsin Monabil Khan. The order affects not only Saiful Alam but also his wife, children, and close relatives.
According to the ACC, the assets – including at least 40 bank accounts and significant investments in several Singapore-based companies – were allegedly acquired through illegally laundered money. The court also froze four accounts under the name of Alam’s wife and about SGD 6.8 million worth of investments jointly owned by the couple.
The family’s financial web abroad includes directorships and shareholdings in multiple offshore companies. For example, sons Ashraful Alam and Ahsanul Alam hold investments and serve as directors in firms registered in Singapore. Daughters and other relatives are also implicated, with insurance policies, gold holdings, and additional bank accounts frozen.
This order follows a series of previous court directives targeting the S Alam empire. On 9 July, a Dhaka court froze 53 domestic bank accounts tied to Saiful Alam and his businesses, amounting to over Tk113 crore.
Earlier, courts had ordered: Seizure of a luxury villa in Cyprus and $350,000 in offshore investments (24 June), Freezing of six Jersey trust funds and shares in 18 foreign companies, Confiscation of 159 acres of land valued at Tk407 crore (23 April), Freezing of 1,360 domestic accounts containing over Tk2,619 crore (17 April), Travel bans on 12 family members, including Saiful Alam’s wife, Farzana Parveen (7 October 2024), Seizure of shares worth Tk8,133 crore and property worth Tk368 crore between February and March 2024.
In a parallel development, a Chattogram court on Thursday also imposed a travel ban on 11 individuals – including Saiful Alam and top officials of Unitex Steel Mills Ltd – in a Tk731.63 crore loan default case involving Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited’s Pahartali branch.
The travel restrictions, issued by Judge Md Helal Uddin of Chattogram’s Money Loan Court-1, came in response to concerns that the accused may flee the country, following a pattern of previous high-profile defaulters. The list includes several directors and former executives of Unitex Steel Mills and Unitex Group, along with Saiful Alam’s son, Ahsanul Alam.
According to court documents, the accused took out large loans but failed to repay them, prompting Islami Bank to seek legal safeguards, including passport seizures and exit bans.
Legal experts say the combined court actions signal a dramatic escalation in accountability efforts for financial crimes, especially against well-connected business elites.
The ACC maintains that further investigations are underway, and more asset freezes could follow.
If proven, these cases may rank among the largest corporate corruption scandals in Bangladesh’s history.
