A court in Dhaka has ordered the freezing of 125 bank accounts belonging to Saiful Alam, the head of the well-known S Alam Group, and his family.
These accounts hold a total of 22 crore 65 lakh 49 thousand 190 Bangladeshi Taka.
While no one is allowed to withdraw money from these accounts, they can still receive deposits.
This decision came after a hearing on December 19, as part of an investigation into corruption allegations against the S Alam Group, according to Bdnews24.com.
The court`s order was issued by the Acting Metropolitan Sessions Judge of Dhaka, Ibrahim Mia, after reviewing the petition from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The ACC’s lawyer, Mir Mosharraf Ali Salam, confirmed that the request to freeze the accounts was made by Abu Saeed, the ACC’s Deputy Director.
On the same day, the ACC filed charges against Saiful Alam’s son, Ahsanul Alam, and 57 others. They are accused of embezzling a huge sum of 109 crore 46 lakh Taka by taking fraudulent loans from Islami Bank.
The ACC’s petition mentions that Saiful Alam and his family members are also accused of transferring 1 billion dollars to foreign countries like Singapore, Cyprus, and the British Virgin Islands.
During the investigation, authorities discovered these 125 bank accounts at First Security Islami Bank, which raised suspicions due to the unusually large amounts of money held in them.
The ACC has claimed that these funds were obtained through illegal means and were being hidden in these accounts to potentially be transferred abroad.
The commission believes it is essential to freeze these accounts under anti-money laundering laws to prevent any further illegal activities.
Earlier, on October 7, the court had also imposed a travel ban on Saiful Alam and 12 members of his family to prevent them from leaving the country.
The S Alam Group, based in Chittagong, has come under investigation following the fall of the Awami League government. The group has faced accusations of misusing power and influence to take control of banks like Islami Bank.
The ACC believes that fraudulent loans were taken from these banks and the money was transferred abroad.
In response to the allegations, several bank accounts of Saiful Alam and his family have already been frozen, and their stock market trading has been suspended.
New Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H. Mansur has also suggested that the government may take control of shares in the banks owned by the S Alam Group.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) had requested a delay in the transfer of ownership of the S Alam Group and other major business groups in a letter sent to the Joint Stock Companies and Firms Department on August 29.
Additionally, on August 31, the Criminal Investigation Department’s Financial Crime Unit revealed that they have uncovered initial evidence that Saiful Alam, his wife Farzana Parveen, and their sons Ahsanul Alam and Ashraful Alam are involved in the illegal transfer of a staggering 113,000 crore Taka out of the country.
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