Court orders seizure assets of S Alam and wife in Cyprus
A court in Cyprus has ordered the seizure of assets owned by Bangladeshi businessman Mohammad Saiful Alam (better known as S Alam Masud) and his wife in the Pareklisia area of Cyprus. The order was issued by the Nicosia District Court at the request of the Bangladeshi authorities, according to a report of the Cyprus' only English newspaper Cyprus Mail.
The Bangladeshi authorities had requested the seizure of his assets as part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of bank fraud and money laundering against S Alam. The request was made through a “mutual legal assistance process” initiated by the Bangladeshi authorities. Following an application by Cyprus’s anti-money laundering unit (MOKAS), the court ordered the asset seizure on 19 May, said the report.
Saiful Alam has denied these allegations against him.
Mohammad Saiful Alam is the founder and chairman of the S Alam Group. He obtained Cypriot citizenship in 2016 under the country’s “citizenship-by-investment” program, commonly known as the “golden passport” scheme. The asset covered by the Cypriot court’s seizure order is a two-story residential building located in the Pareklisia area.
According to documents submitted by Bangladesh to the Cypriot authorities, Bangladeshi investigators are examining the activities of a network of companies and various financial transactions from 2009 to 2024. The investigation involves allegations such as fraudulent loan acquisition, illegal acquisition of wealth, and money laundering.
According to the Cyprus Mail report, one day after the asset seizure order in Cyprus, a Bangladeshi court sentenced Mohammad Saiful Alam and 10 of his relatives and associates to five months in prison. The case was linked to a loan worth approximately 6 million euros. Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited had provided the loan to an affiliate company of the S Alam Group.
Bangladeshi media reports say that this money was taken for the purchase of 134 buses. However, those buses were never actually bought.
The investigations in Bangladesh are not limited to this case alone. The request sent by Bangladesh to Cyprus states that authorities are also investigating large loans taken by S Alam–linked companies from multiple financial institutions. Among these institutions are Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited and First Security Islami Bank.
Bangladeshi authorities have further stated that many of those loans later became defaulted. Investigators are now examining whether the loan funds were transferred abroad through a network of companies and financial institutions spread across different countries.
The governor of Bangladesh’s central bank has publicly stated that there are allegations that more than 8 billion euros were taken out of the country in this case. Bangladeshi authorities believe that the assets related to the investigation may be scattered across Cyprus, Singapore, and other countries, the news report stated.
An investigation is also underway into a Cyprus-registered company called Eclare International. Mohammad Saiful Alam acquired Eclare International in 2016 after purchasing Eclare Investment Limited. Authorities in Bangladesh are examining whether the company was used in transactions involving the funds under investigation.
Court documents also mention a network of companies and trusts in Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands, and Jersey. Investigators are attempting to identify the ownership structure and financial activities of these entities.
Through lawyers at the law firm Quinn Emanuel, S Alam has said that all his investments come from legitimate foreign sources and that the actions taken against him are unjust.
Saiful Alam has approached the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), where he claims that the measures taken against his assets violate international investment protection treaties.
Mohammad Saiful Alam obtained Cypriot citizenship through the country’s “golden passport” program. The government later abolished the scheme. However, his name did not appear in the report of the committee reviewing the citizenship program’s operations.