The Managing Director of S Alam Group, Mohammad Saiful Alam, and 35 others have been sued by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for alleged irregularities and embezzlement involving a Tk 2,032 crore loan obtained from Janata Bank PLC’s Agrabad Corporate Branch in Chattogram.
The case was filed by Mohammad Sirajul Haque, a deputy director at the commission’s headquarters, at the ACC’s Chattogram District Integrated Office. The defendants are accused of misusing their authority between 2009 and 2025, in collaboration with senior bank officials, to divert significant sums of money through unauthorized approval, renewal, and augmentation of loans in support of S Alam Refined Sugar Industries Limited.
The individuals charged include Mohammad Saiful Alam, the managing director of S Alam Refined Sugar Industries Limited; Mohammad Abdullah Hasan, a director of the company; directors of various S Alam Group-related firms; as well as former officials of Janata Bank such as the chairman, directors, managing director, general managers, and deputy general managers.
The allegations in the first information report (FIR) claim that the defendants incurred excessive liabilities without the bank board’s prior consent, initiated LCs despite existing overdue liabilities, neglected to secure sufficient collateral and personal guarantees, failed to collect acceptance commissions while settling PAD liabilities, and secured refinancing without the bank head office’s authorization, breaching multiple banking regulations and loan sanction terms.
A probe by the ACC revealed that funds were illicitly transferred through 44 pay orders to affiliated entities of S Alam Group, including Global Trading Corporation, S Alam Trading Co Ltd, and Sonali Traders. Furthermore, money was purportedly misappropriated through fund transfers and conversions by establishing LCs under the names of their own and group-affiliated companies.
The ACC stated that loan renewals and augmentations were approved by the bank’s credit committee and board of directors without adequate scrutiny, enabling opportunities for embezzlement. The case has been lodged under sections 409, 420, and 109 of the Penal Code, section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and section 4(2) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.