Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has requested detailed information on the bank accounts of S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam and his family members.
The BFIU has also sought account details for other directors of S Alam Group and their families.
The BFIU has asked banks to provide information on accounts held in their names, jointly held accounts, or accounts in the names of business entities, said a senior official of the anti-money laundering agency.
Letters were sent to banks and non-bank financial institutions last evening in this regard.
Additionally, the BFIU has asked banks to provide details about lockers and savings certificates held by S Alam, his family members, the group's directors, and their family members.
On August 14, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) has asked banks and non-bank financial institutions to provide account details of S Alam along with his family members and business entities.
In a letter issued to 91 banks and non-bank financial institutions, the Tax Zone-15 sought bank details of S Alam's wife Farzana Parvin, mother Chemon Ara Begum and brother Abdullah Hasan.
Additionally, information was requested regarding the bank accounts of their parents, children, siblings, as well as the business entities they own.
There are allegations that the business group benefited from banks by securing thousands of crores of taka.
Saiful Alam Masud, chairman of the S Alam Group, has honed a unique style of minting money. His strategy often involves forming new companies or acquiring struggling ones, then securing loans worth hundreds of crores of taka in the names of these paper-based entities.
Earlier on August 19, the Bangladesh Bank has imposed restrictions on giving fresh lending of six banks linked to S Alam Group amid allegations of wrongdoing.
The banks are: Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, Social Islami Bank, Union Bank, Global Islami Bank and Bangladesh Commerce Bank.
According to the Bangladesh Bank order, those six banks will not be able to disburse any new loan and also will not able to reschedule any previous loans until further notice.
However, the lenders will be able to disburse agriculture loans, SME loans against deposits and incentives package up to Tk 5.0 crore, according to the BB letter.
After interim government came to power on August 8 following the fall of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Islami Bank, the country’s leading Shariah-based bank, freed from the control of S Alam Group on August 21. The group controlled Islami Bank for seven years.
The bank was freed from the group's control as Bangladesh Bank dissolveed the board of the country's largest private sector bank that was heavily dominated by individuals linked to the conglomerate.
The central bank later took over all the shares of S Alam against its liabilities as per law
S Alam Group owns as much as 82 percent stakes in Islami Bank, documents show, but the conglomerate maintains it has 32 percent stakes.
The move to dissolve the board was taken after a group of Islami Bank officials, former chairman of the board of directors and clients requested the BB governor to do so.
BBN/SS/AN