Mohammed Saiful Alam, founder and chairman of the controversial S Alam Group, has filed an arbitration case with the World Bank鈥檚 International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), accusing the Bangladesh government of causing millions of dollars in losses through its asset recovery campaign, according to The Financial Times.
Lawyers for the S Alam family filed the case in Washington on Monday under a 2004 Bangladesh鈥揝ingapore bilateral investment treaty, citing what they described as a 鈥榯argeted campaign of arbitrary asset freezing, confiscation, and value destruction鈥� by the interim government of Muhammad Yunus.
The family, now Singaporean citizens, argues that it is entitled to protections under Bangladesh鈥檚 foreign private investment law.
The arbitration follows the interim government鈥檚 sweeping asset recovery drive aimed at tracing billions allegedly laundered abroad during former prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥檚 15-year rule.
A government-commissioned white paper in December estimated illicit outflows at $234 billion.
Family members obtained Singapore citizenship between 2021 and 2023, having renounced Bangladeshi nationality in 2020, according to legal documents, FT reported.
The S Alam family has argued previously that as Singaporean citizens, they should be protected by rights granted by Bangladesh鈥檚 1980 law on foreign private investment, it reported.
Bangladesh Bank governor Ahsan H Mansur, who leads the recovery effort, has accused S Alam Group of diverting $12 billion through bank takeovers and inflated import invoices. The group has denied the allegations, calling them baseless.
The FT reported that the claim alleges the government has frozen bank accounts, seized assets, and launched 鈥榮purious鈥� investigations into the group鈥檚 business operations while coordinating a 鈥榟ostile media campaign鈥�.
It contends these actions have caused extensive financial damage but does not specify the compensation sought.
Last week, a Dhaka court ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to freeze shares worth over Tk 8,000cr.
