The Chamber Judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday refused to issue an injunction on the publication of news, statements, and videos in the media related to the overseas transfer of assets by Mohammad Saiful Alam, the owner of S Alam Group, and his wife Farzana Parveen.
Justice M Enayetur Rahim, however, kept the petition filed by Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen in record.
The court said that if the applicants want, they can present the injunction petition again during the leave to appeal hearing scheduled for January 8 next year.
On Tuesday, Mohammed Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen filed a petition to the Supreme Court, seeking an injunction to prohibit any discussions or mentions related to the currently halted investigation into the case.
On August 4, a report on S Alam's money laundering was published in an English daily.
According to the report, Alam set up a business worth at least $1 billion in Singapore. However, he did not take any permission from Bangladesh Bank to invest or transfer money abroad.
Bangladesh's central bank has so far allowed 17 companies to invest outside the country, but the name of this Chittagong-based business is not on the list.
Documents also show that S Alam has bought at least two hotels, two houses, a commercial space and other assets in Singapore in the last decade and his name has been removed from the papers in different ways.
According to Bangladesh Bank records, $40.15 million has been taken from the country for foreign investment till January 10, 2023. However, this amount is only one-third of the $411.8 million of S Alam’s investments in Singapore since 2009.
Bangladesh Bank documents also show that so far several companies have sent $107,000 to Singapore through legal means, and not a single company is owned by S Alam.