A court has ordered the freezing of shares worth Tk 3.5 billion belonging to businessman Saiful Alam, who chairs the S Alam Group, and his family members.
Following a hearing on Thursday, Dhaka Metro-politan Sessions Judge Zakir Hossain Galib issued the order.
ACC lawyer Mir Mohammad Ali Salam told bdnews24.com shares worth around Tk 3.5 billion, owned by Saiful and his family, have been frozen.
These shares were discovered during an investigation into his "illegal assets".
ACC Court Inspector Amir Hossain told bdnews24.com the judge passed the order after hearing the application of ACC Deputy Director Abu Sayeed.
The application states during the investigation into allegations against Saiful and his family laundering $1 billion to Singapore, the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, and other countries, information about shares linked to their interests surfaced.
It also mentioned a risk of losing the said immovable properties if they are not frozen immediately.
The need to freeze movable assets under Section 14 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2012, was also highlighted.
Earlier on Jan 14, the court ordered the seizure of 16 immovable properties worth Tk 2 billion belonging to Saiful and his family and the freezing of 87 bank accounts worth Tk 250 million in the names of his family members.
The properties include a 10-storey S Alam Tower in Gulshan, a six-storey building with one bigha, or 0.1337 hectares, of land in Dhanmondi, a four-storey building with 11.88 decimals of land in Dhanmondi Lake Circus, A 2,658 square-foot flat in Gulshan, 0.7888 acres, or 0.3189 hectares, of land in Gulshan-2, a seven-storey building in Uttara Residential Area, a plot of 103.3 kathas, or 1.708 hectares, land in Bashundhara Residential Area.
Separate plots of land: 1.72 acres, or 0.6968 hectares, 96 katha, or 0.575 hectares, 1.9536 acres, or 0.7904 hectares, 11.1061 bighas, or 1.486 hectares, and 131.04 katha, or 0.787 hectares.
Of the 87 bank accounts blocked, Tk 122.48 million is held in 19 accounts in Union Bank branches, while Tk 135.31 million is deposited in 68 accounts across Global Islami Bank.
On Oct 7 2024, the court imposed a travel ban on Saiful and 13 of his family members.
Others under the ban are Saiful's wife Farzana Parveen, two sons Ashraful Alam and Ahsanul Alam; six brothers Morshedul Alam, Shahidul Alam, Rashedul Alam, Abdus Samad, Osman Gani and Mohammad Abdullah Hasan.
In addition, Samad's wife Shahana Ferdous, Osman's wife Farzana Begum and a person named Mishkat Ahmed will not be able to leave the country.
Various irregularities in the S Alam Group, an industrial conglomerate known as a beneficiary of the ousted Awami League government, came to light following the change in power due to the mass uprising.
Government agencies have started investigating allegations of irregularities in the banking sector, money laundering and income tax evasion against Saiful, the chairman of this Chittagong-based group.
The allegations against Saiful, claiming he forcibly took control of Islami Bank with the help of influential figures during the tenure of the previous government, are long-standing.
He and his business group later gained control of the boards of several other Sharia-based banks.
He is accused of taking loans from these banks under large sums, opening companies in his name, and using irregularities and fraud to launder money abroad.
Meanwhile, the S Alam family's bank accounts and BO accounts have been blocked, and share transactions have been suspended.
Governor Ahsan H Mansur has said the government will take ownership of the shares of various banks controlled by S Alam.
On Aug 29, the National Board of Revenue, or NBR, wrote to the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms requesting a suspension of the transfer of ownership of seven business groups, including S Alam.
On Aug 31, the CID's Financial Crime Unit said it had received initial information about the laundering of Tk 1.13 trillion abroad against the S Alam family.
—bdnews24.com
