A Dhaka court has ordered the freezing of 1,360 bank accounts linked to S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam and his associates, which hold a total of Tk2,619.07 crore.
The order was issued by Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Zakir Hossain Galib on Thursday following a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
According to court sources, the petition was submitted by ACC Deputy Director Tahasin Munabeel Haque. After a hearing, the court granted the petition.
The ACC informed the court that a joint enquiry and investigation team has been formed to probe allegations of money laundering against Mohammad Saiful Alam and individuals connected to his interests.
Based on information gathered during the enquiry, it was revealed that associates of Mohammed Saiful Alam had been attempting to transfer, move, or conceal funds held in various accounts across multiple branches of First Security Islami Bank PLC.
The ACC warned that if assets were transferred before the enquiry concluded, recovering the funds later would become difficult. It said that freezing the accounts was essential to ensure a fair investigation.
Earlier, on October 7 last year, the court had imposed a travel ban on Saiful Alam, his wife Farzana Parveen, and 12 other members of his family. On January 16, the court froze shares worth Tk3,563.84 crore belonging to Alam and his family.
Subsequently, on February 3, the court ordered the seizure of 175 bighas of land worth Tk368.25 crore, and on February 12, shares worth Tk437.85 crore were frozen—collectively valued at Tk5,109 crore.
Further court orders followed: on February 23, shares worth Tk 8,133.56 crore were frozen; on March 10, 1,006 bighas of land were seized; on April 9, another 90 bighas of land were seized. On the same day, the court also froze 374 bank accounts held in the names of his close associates.
