A Dhaka special judge鈥檚 court on Thursday ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to request red notices from Interpol against S Alam Group chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam and his two brothers in a loan fraud case.
Besides, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against 11 people, including Agrani Bank鈥檚 former managing director Syed Abdul Hamid, on charges of embezzling Tk聽189 crore by securing loans in the name of a fake company.
Judge Md Sabbir Foyez of the Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Court ordered the ACC to request Interpol red notices through the home ministry after hearing a petition submitted by the ACC.
Interpol is an international organisation that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control.
Saiful Alam鈥檚 two brothers are Abdus Samad, vice-chairman of S Alam Group, and Mohammad Abdullah Hasan, a director of the conglomerate.
Earlier, on September 16, ACC deputy director Tahasin Munabil Haque submitted the petition in this regard, said ACC deputy director for public relations Aktarul Islam.
According to the petition, the commission had made several attempts to arrest the accused but later learnt that they had fled Bangladesh.
The commission, therefore, sought the court order to seek Interpol鈥檚 assistance through the Ministry of Home Affairs to execute arrest warrants against Saiful Alam and his two brothers.
Earlier, on July 2, the case was filed with the ACC integrated district office in Dhaka-1, accusing them of embezzling Tk 104.20 crore borrowed from Reliance Finance Limited (now Aviva Finance Limited) under a shell company named Messrs AM Trading.
The funds were allegedly laundered through several bank accounts before being transferred to S Alam Super Edible Oil Limited, said the case statement.
Saiful Alam, who was a close associate of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, took control of Islami Bank Bangladesh in 2017.
Since then, his Chattogram-based business conglomerate, S Alam Group, reportedly gained control of eight banks and withdrew over Tk 1 trillion in loans for banks under various names, sparking widespread allegations of financial irregularities.
After the fall of the Awami League government in a mass uprising on August 5, 2024, the ACC started an inquiry into alleged misuse of power, money laundering and amassing illegal wealth by the business group.
A number of cases were filed recently against Saiful Alam and his family members while a huge amount of assets of the accused were seized by court orders at home and abroad.
The anti-graft agency filed the case against 11 people, including former Agrani Bank managing director, on charges of embezzling Tk聽189 crore.
It gave approval to file the case at a meeting of the commission, said ACC director general Md Akhter Hossain at a press briefing at the commission鈥檚 headquarters in the capital Dhaka on the day.
According to the ACC finding, about Tk 51 crore was withdrawn as loans through a shell company named 鈥楳essrs Mizan Traders鈥� with the help of officials of Nurjahan Group-owned Jasmeer Vegetable Oil Limited.
Later, the amount of the loan along with interest stood at Tk 189.80 crore.
The ACC found that a massive loan was sanctioned just a few months after opening the account for the first time. At that time, instead of raising objections, bank officials recommended the loan, which was subsequently approved by the board of directors.
In reality, 鈥楳izan Traders鈥� was a proxy company of Nurjahan Group.
Although a salaried employee named Mizanur Rahman was shown as the owner, account operations were approved by Jasmeer Vegetable Oil Limited鈥檚 managing director, Zahir Ahmed, said ACC officials.
The other accused in the case are Agrani Bank鈥檚 former principal officer of Asadganj branch Mostak Ahmed, former deputy general manager Md Abul Hossain Talukder, former GM (Dhaka circle-2) Md Obaid Ullah Al Masud, former GM Mohammad Shamsul Islam, former DGM Tajrina Ferdousi, and former GM Md Mofazzal Hossain, M/S Mizan Traders proprietor Md Mizanur Rahman, Jasmeer Vegetable Oil Limited managing director Zahir Ahmed, and directors Tipu Sultan and Forhad Monowar.
