HC orders probe into allegations of S Alam Group's $1b laundering

The High Court has ordered a thorough investigation into the allegations of at least $1 billion money laundered by Mohammed Saiful Alam, the owner of S Alam Group.

The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat on Sunday directed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) to investigate the matter and submit a report within two months.

The investigation was prompted by a report published in the national English daily, The Daily Star, which revealed that Saiful Alam had allegedly established businesses worth at least $1 billion in Singapore without obtaining permission from the Bangladesh Bank for overseas investments or money transfers.

Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Suman brought the report to the court's attention, and in response, the court said if S Alam had not engaged in money laundering, they should submit an affidavit to clarify the matter.

Barrister Sayedul Haque Suman told The Business Standard that the court also issued a rule, asking why the inaction of the authorities concerned over money laundering by S Alam Group should not be declared illegal.

In the rule, the court asked the ACC and the BFIU to explain why they should not be directed to investigate the allegations of the published report and take appropriate action against the persons and institutions involved in the incident, he said.

In addition, the High Court ordered the editor of The Daily Star to submit the documents, based on which the daily published the report, to the court within the next four weeks.

ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told TBS that the court fixed 10 October for the next hearing.

The Daily Star report titled "S Alam's Aladdin's lamp" mentioned that while the central bank has permitted 17 companies to invest abroad, the name of Chattogram-based S Alam Group was absent from the list.

According to the report, over the past decade, Saiful Alam had acquired two hotels, two houses, a commercial space, and other assets in Singapore, with his name concealed from the records.

According to central bank documents, $40.15 million have been taken out of the country for foreign investment till 10 January 2023, it said.

However, this amount is only a fraction of the staggering $411.8 million invested by Saiful Alam in Singapore after 2009 for the purchase of just two hotels and commercial space, the report said.

The documents further indicated that several companies had legally sent $1.07 lakh to Singapore, while none of these companies were linked to S Alam, said the report.