The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has sought bank account details of businessman Saiful Alam alias S Alam and his family members.
On Thursday, the NBR income tax department – under Tax Zone-15 of the capital – sent a letter in this regard to all banks and financial institutions across the country.
According to sources in Tax Zone-15, and a document obtained by The Business Post, the bank account details of S Alam's wife Farzana Parveen, mother Chemon Ara Begum and brother Abdullah Hasan have been sought.
Besides, bank account details of their parents, spouse, son, daughter or sister in joint name or business name have also been sought. So, the NBR is seeking the bank accounts details of S Alam and all his family members.
Apart from this, the NBR has also sought information on credit cards under the name of S Alam and his family members. In addition to banks, information on accounts held with financial institutions, National Savings Directorate and Postal Department have also been sought.
S Alam's wife Farzana Parveen and brother Abdullah Hasan are directors of S Alam luxury chair coach service and S Alam Cold Rolled Steel Ltd, while S Alam's mother Chemon Ara Begum is a director of the S Alam Luxury Chair Coach Service.
There are allegations against S Alam and his family members of taking over many banks in the country, including the Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC. He reportedly carried out such activities with support from the then government.
The NBR field office took the initiative more than a week after Sheikh Hasina resigned in the face of a mass uprising, ending her 15-year rule.
What’s known about S Alam group?
S Alam Group is a Chattogram-based local conglomerate that started its journey in 1985. It has investments in banking, leasing, insurance, stock brokering, and merchant banking sectors.
The industries under this group include food and allied products, steel, banking, consumer products, sugar, cement, power, energy, transportation, shipping, manufacturing, hospitality, financial institution, agro, trading, oil, and gas.
After the Hasina government came to power in 2009, the group gradually started to expand. The company later came under spotlight for alleged connection to several irregularities in the financial sector.
Maintaining close ties with the government, the conglomerate has taken ownership of at least eight banks and several financial institutions. The most discussed among them is the Islami Bank, which is the largest bank in the private sector.
There are allegations that the group has taken a large amount of loans in the name of S Alam or unnamed from different banks apart from Islami Bank. The local media have published a number of news articles in this regard.
Recently, those who were appointed in the Islami Bank after the ownership of S Alam are being expelled by the officers and employees who were appointed earlier. There was also a shooting incident that took place in front of the bank's head office in Motijheel recently.
Similar turmoil is going on in the First Security Islami Bank PLC, another bank owned by S Alam group.
There are allegations about money laundering against the group. In this issue, a news article was published in a national daily on August 4, 2023, and Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Syed Sayedul Haque Sumon brought the matter to the court's attention on August 6.
After that, the High Court directed to investigate the allegations of money laundering abroad against S Alam Group, and submit the report within two months.
But on 5 February this year the Appellate Division rejected the appeal, which was led by the then chief justice Obaidul Hasan. Obaidul recently resigned from the position of chief justice after facing pressure from the Boishommo Birodhi Chhatra Andolon.
