SC issues status quo on probe into S Alam Group’s money laundering allegations

The chamber judge of the Supreme Court has imposed a status quo until 8 January 2024 on a High Court order that called for an inquiry into allegations of laundering at least $1 billion by S Alam Group owner Mohammed Saiful Alam.

Chamber Judge M Enayetur Rahim issued the directive on Wednesday after hearing a leave to appeal petition filed by Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen.

Khurshid Alam, lawyer of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), told The Business Standard that the chamber judge also sent the petition to the full bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice, scheduling a hearing for 8 January next.

He stated that the High Court's directive will remain unchanged in its present form.

"Following the chamber court's order, the decision on whether the investigation will proceed or not is pending, and it will be determined after the hearing by the full bench," he added.

However, the chamber judge did not make any remarks about Saiful Alam's petition seeking a gag on the media. The petition was submitted by the party to the attorney general's office.

Senior lawyers Barrister Ajmalul Hossain KC and Ahsanul Karim represented Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen.

In a suo motu rule, the High Court on 6 August this year ordered probing the accusations against Saiful and Farzana for unapproved foreign investments or money transfers.

The order followed the publication of the 4 August report titled "S Alam's Aladdin's Lamp" in The Daily Star, which reported on "laundering of about $1 billion by S Alam".

Lawyer Syed Syedul Haque Sumon brought the newspaper report to the court's attention, resulting in the emergence of two separate applications by Saiful Alam and his wife.

The Daily Star report mentioned that while the central bank has permitted 17 companies to invest abroad, the name of Chattogram-based S Alam Group was absent from the list.

According to the report, over the past decade, Saiful Alam had acquired two hotels, two houses, a commercial space, and other assets in Singapore, with his name concealed from the records.

According to central bank documents, $40.15 million have been taken out of the country for foreign investment till 10 January 2023, it said.

However, this amount is only a fraction of the staggering $411.8 million invested by S Alam in Singapore after 2009 for the purchase of just two hotels and commercial space, the report said.

The documents further indicated that several companies had legally sent $1.07 lakh to Singapore, while none of these companies were linked to S Alam, said the report.