Shahabuddin named in Islami Bank ‘share scam’

An Islami Bank share fraud case filed during Mohammad Shahabuddin's presidency has surfaced after his resignation, nearly 10 months after it was filed.
The former president is among 20 people accused of conspiring to fraudulently acquire shares worth Tk 2.51 billion.

Senior Officer Abdus Smad, acting on behalf of Islami Bank, filed the case on Sept 4, 2025, at the Senior Special Judges’ Court in Dhaka.

The lawsuit names 20 individuals as suspects, alleging a planned conspiracy to acquire shares worth Tk 2.51 billion under the name of Brilliant Business Company Ltd through “corruption, fraud, and illegal coercion to loot and embezzle bank funds”.

Judge Md Sabbir Faiz recorded the plaintiff’s statement and accepted the case.

He also ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate the allegations and submit a report by Jun 23.

The anti-graft watchdog, however, failed to submit it that day.

Acting judge Mohammad Alamgir has set Aug 11 as the next date for submission, according to the court’s Bench Assistant Riaz Hossain.

The development raises questions because the Constitution bars criminal charges from being brought against a sitting president.

It is therefore unclear how a case was filed against the former president while he was in office and how the court ordered an investigation.

The case documents identify defendant No. 12 as “Mohammad Shahabuddin”, describing him as a director of Islami Bank Bangladesh.

A note in brackets says he was “nominated by JMC Builders Ltd and elected in collusion with defendants No. 1 and 3”.

Shahabuddin, a former ACC commissioner, became an Islami Bank director in 2017 as a representative of JMC Builders Ltd and later served as the bank’s vice-chairman.

He was also a member of its audit committee.

He resigned from those positions after being elected president in 2023, as required by law.

Confusion arose on Sunday over whether the “Shahabuddin” named in the case was the same person as the recently departed president.

The spelling of the defendant’s and his father’s name and his address also differ from Shahabuddin’s details.

Abdul Quddus, a lawyer for the plaintiff, said he did not know whether the defendant was the recently departed president.

He said he had filed the case as Islami Bank’s panel lawyer and knew nothing beyond that, adding that the case was filed based on a list provided by the bank authorities.

However, when contacted later, plaintiff Samad said the defendant was indeed former president Shahabuddin, who was serving as an Islami Bank director at the time.�"bdnews24