ACC sues S Alam Group in 3 more cases over Tk6,243cr Janata Bank loan scam
The charges brought against the accused include criminal breach of trust, fraud, and gross abuse of power under the Penal Code, and they are also being prosecuted under the 1947 Corruption Prevention Act and the 2012 Money Laundering Prevention Act
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) today (21 December) filed three fresh cases against the S Alam Group, accusing the controversial conglomerate of misappropriating more than Tk6,243 crore through fraudulent loans from state-owned Janata Bank.
These lawsuits, filed by ACC Deputy Director Mohammad Sirajul Hoque at the commission's Chattogram District Integrated Office-1.
Shobel Ahmed, the deputy director of the anti-graft body's Chattogram office, confirmed that the lawsuits name S Alam Group Chairman Saiful Alam Masud as the prime accused in each case. The charge sheets also implicate his wife, Farzana Parveen, along with several high-ranking executives of the conglomerate and dozens of Janata Bank officials who allegedly facilitated the irregular transactions.
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The first case involves S Alam Vegetable Oil Limited, which is charged with embezzling Tk2,003.48 crore, including interest, between 13 September 2005 and 6 March this year. A total of 32 individuals have been accused in this instance, including 28 officials from Janata Bank itself.
The second lawsuit targets S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited for allegedly siphoning off Tk2,297.75 crore between 23 February 2010 and 6 April this year. This case likewise names 32 individuals, 25 of whom are bank staff.
The third case focuses on S Alam Trading Company Private Limited, which is accused of misappropriating Tk1,942.56 crore from 10 May 2005 to 6 April 2025. This lawsuit names 31 individuals, including five members of the S Alam family and 26 bank officials.
Widening net of accountability
The charges brought against the accused include criminal breach of trust, fraud, and gross abuse of power under the Penal Code. They are also being prosecuted under the 1947 Corruption Prevention Act and the 2012 Money Laundering Prevention Act.
These latest legal actions follow two other cases filed just four days ago, on 17 December, which involved over Tk3,184 crore in similar loan irregularities linked to S Alam Refined Sugar Industries and S Alam Super Edible Oil.
With today's filings, the total amount of allegedly misappropriated funds across these five cases stands at approximately Tk9,428 crore. The graft commission's investigation highlights a pattern of irregular loan sanctions, inflated collateral valuations, and the unauthorised transfer of funds to S Alam group-affiliated entities.
Saiful Alam Masud, who renounced his Bangladeshi citizenship and became a Singaporean citizen in 2023, is currently under state scrutiny for financial crimes.
While the ACC and other agencies pursue these domestic cases, the S Alam Group has initiated arbitration proceedings at the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The group claims that the interim government's asset recovery drive constitutes unfair treatment and has caused significant damages to their business.
