Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court on Wednesday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to freeze 53 bank accounts with deposits of Tk 113.09 crore, belonging to S Alam Group chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam and people or entities connected to him.
The court also ordered ACC to freeze 26 beneficiary owner accounts of former land minister and Awami League鈥檚 lawmaker Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, his associates, and entities, involving assets worth Tk 576.08 crore.
Judge Md Jakir Hossain passed the order following two separate petitions submitted by the ACC, said the commission鈥檚 public relations officer Aktarul Islam.
ACC deputy director Thasin Monabil Haque in his petition told the court that a joint inquiry and investigation team has been formed to probe allegations of money laundering against Saiful and his associates.
The petition claimed that the individuals linked to Saiful Alam have attempted to transfer or conceal funds from the 53 bank accounts in various branches of First Security Islami Bank, Mutual Trust Bank, and Islami Bank Bangladesh.
The court ordered the ACC to seize foreign assets of S Alam Group chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen in three countries, including the British Virgin Islands, over allegations of money laundering.
The couple owns a two-storey house in Cyprus, shares in 19 companies in the British Virgin Islands, and stakes in six companies registered in Jersey, a self-governing British Crown dependency.
On June 17, the court directed the ACC to seize 200.26 acres of immovable property worth Tk 180.61 crore of S Alam Group.
On April 27, the court ordered the anti-graft agency to seize 563.57 acres of land worth Tk 1,001.76 crore while it also ordered to freeze 1,360 bank accounts, with Tk 2,619 crore of Mohammed Saiful Alam and in the name of those concerned with his interests on April 17.
On April 23, the court also ordered the ACC to seize 159.15 acres of land worth Tk 407 crore owned by them.
On April 9, the court ordered the ACC to seize 7,919.52 kathas of land worth Tk 325.19 crore of the business group.
On January 30, the court ordered the ACC to seize 58 acres of land worth Tk 368 crore belonging to Saiful Alam and his family members.
On February 12, the court ordered the ACC to freeze 437.85 crore shares belonging to S Alam and his family in 42 companies. The value of the shares is about Tk 5,100 crore.
On January 16, the court ordered the freezing of more than 32.1 crore shares worth Tk 350 crore owned by S Alam and his family members in 24 companies.
The court on January 14 ordered the ACC to seize immovable properties worth Tk 200 crore and the freezing of 87 bank accounts of S Alam, his wife and 16 of his family members.
After the fall of the authoritarian Awami League regime in a student-led mass uprising on August 5, 2024, the ACC started inquiries against a number of business groups, including the S Alam Group, over various corruption allegations.
The court on Wednesday also ordered ACC to freeze 26 beneficiary owner accounts of Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, his associates, and entities, involving assets worth Tk 576.08 crore following a petition submitted by ACC deputy director Mashiur Rahman.
According to the petition, a seven-member inquiry team has been formed to probe money laundering allegations against the former minister.
On June 17, the British government seized assets worth Tk 1,060 crore allegedly laundered by Saifuzzaman to the United Kingdom.
On March 5, a Dhaka court also ordered the freezing of 39 bank accounts of Saifuzzaman with deposits of Tk 5.26 crore.
On October 17, 2024, the same court ordered the seizure of 580 immovable properties, including homes, apartments, and land owned by Saifuzzaman and his family in Bangladesh and abroad. These include 343 properties in the UK, 228 in the UAE, and nine in the US.
Meanwhile, the court also ordered ACC to seize two houses of ex-minister and former lawmaker from Rajbari-2 constituency Zillul Hakim in the capital and Rajbari district.
The houses which were ordered to seize are: a six-storey building on five kathas of land in Uttara Model Town in Dhaka and three-storey building on 80.35 decimal of land in Rajbari district.
