S Alam's debt amounts to Tk 1000b, Tk 260b deposited in the bank

Controversial business conglomerate S Alam Group's owner Saiful Alam, his family members and their affiliated companies have been found to have enormous sums of cash in just six banks, amounting approximately Tk 260 billion.

The funds are deposited under various accounts, including those of S Alam, his wife Farzana Parveen, his brother Abdullah Hasan, and other family members.

Five of these banks were directly owned or controlled by the S Alam Group.

Preliminary investigations by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) under Tax Zone-15 has uncovered this staggering amount of money belonging to the S Alam Group.

According to NBR sources, officials from this tax zone are working to bring the entire deposited amount under the control of the tax department.

Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, Tax Zone-15 had summoned the bank accounts of S Alam’s family and their companies. The tax department normally summons accounts to recover evaded taxes.

The investigation team of Tax Zone-15 has found that over the past five years, around Tk 1090 billion has been deposited in various accounts of the S Alam Group across six banks.

Most of this money was deposited as loans. There are allegations that S Alam Group took loans in names and other names and laundered the money.

Since 2020, over Tk 837.06 billion has been deposited in multiple accounts of S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited alone.

The six banks where these massive sums were discovered are: Islami Bank, Exim Bank, Bangladesh Commerce Bank, Al-Arafah Islami Bank, First Security Islami Bank, and National Bank.

Except for Exim Bank and Al-Arafah Islami Bank, the other four banks were directly owned by the S Alam Group, and Al-Arafah Islami Bank was also under the group's control.

The Bangladesh Bank has dissolved the boards of these six banks and appointed new ones.

On 5 August, following the student-people's uprising, prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and left the country.

The S Alam Group was one of the businesses that received special benefits through irregularities and corruption during her government.

There are allegations that, with political decisions and state patronage, S Alam and his family have committed various financial crimes, including bank seizures, over the past decade. Bangladesh Bank officials suspect that money was laundered from the banks under their control.

In the second week of August, the NBR summoned the bank accounts of individuals associated with S Alam. Letters were sent to all commercial banks, financial institutions, the National Savings Directorate, and 91 postal department institutions requesting information on all bank accounts and credit card transactions.

The data received from these six banks shows that the S Alam family and their companies have deposits amounting to Tk 259.65 billion. Verification of data from other banks is ongoing.

Mustafa K Mujeri, former chief economist of Bangladesh Bank, told Prothom Alo that bank looting occurred with the political patronage of the past government.

The boards of the relevant banks facilitated the looting, while Bangladesh Bank remained silent. An unethical circle had formed among these three parties. When the S Alam Group was withdrawing money from the banks, there was no one to stop them because all parties were benefiting.

Mujeri added that if exemplary punishment is given to those involved, including the S Alam Group, through the investigation of tax evasion, it would deter others from engaging in such activities in the future.

S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited, a subsidiary of the S Alam Group, has its factory located in Patia, Chattogram.

Established in 2000, this company has had Tk 837.06 billion deposited into various accounts in six banks over the past five years. Most of these deposits were recorded as loans, but the funds were withdrawn shortly after each deposit.

It is known that the S Alam Group has also transferred money between accounts as a method of money laundering, which might result in the same money being counted multiple times.

The massive and unusual transactions in this small company raise questions. Tax officials suspect that money laundering may have occurred, as the company's website states an annual turnover of only Tk 4 billion.

Tax officials said a detailed investigation will be conducted once all bank accounts are reviewed.

NBR sources have revealed that only Tk 47.62 billion remains deposited in the six banks under the name of S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited. This implies that the remaining money has been withdrawn over time.

Commissioner of Tax Zone-15, Ahsan Habib, told Prothom Alo that measures are being taken to collect fair taxes from tax evaders. As part of this, the income and expenditure of the S Alam family members in Tax Zone-15 are being verified against tax records. Legal action will be taken if evidence of tax evasion is found.

On Sunday, Prothom Alo correspondent visited the S Alam Cold Rolled Steels factory in Patia, Chattogram.

Upon crossing the Shah Amanat Bridge and reaching the Siklabaha Kalapur area in Karnaphuli upazila, the factory was found to be located beside the Siklabaha canal.

Security personnel prevented entry into the factory. When inquired about the operational status of the factory, they confirmed that it is operational.

S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited primarily processes steel sheets, importing raw steel coils and producing finished steel sheets used for various products, including corrugated sheets.

According to the company's website, the factory’s production capacity is 120,000 tonnes per year. However, analysis of raw material imports shows that the factory has not utilized even half of its capacity since its establishment.

Steel industry sources said in Bangladesh, there are six factories producing steel sheets. S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited imports the least amount of raw materials among them, holding less than 5 per cent of the market share.

In the 2023-24 fiscal year, these six factories imported 8.5 lakh tonnes of raw steel sheets (hot rolled steel coils), with S Alam importing 38,000 tonnes, costing Tk 2.67 billion.

The largest company in this sector is Abul Khair Group's Abul Khair Strip Processing Limited, which imported 291,000 tonnes of raw steel, accounting for 34 per cent of the total imports. The second-largest is PHP Group, with 187,000 tonnes, representing 22 per cent of the total. The combined cost of imports for the six companies was Tk 56.74 billion.

Saiful Alam’s wife Farzana Parveen, mother Chemon Ara, and brother Abdullah Hasan are registered taxpayers in Tax Zone-15.

Last month, information about bank accounts in the names of Saiful Alam's family members, including his parents, wife, son, daughter, or sister, or under their business names, was also summoned.

According to data from the six banks, Abdullah Hasan’s bank account currently has a deposit of Tk 14.49 billion. The tax department is planning to issue an order to seize this account to prevent any further withdrawals.

On the other hand, S Alam's wife Farzana Parveen is reported to have hundreds of crores in her name. Both Farzana Parveen and Abdullah Hasan are directors of S Alam Luxury Coach Service and S Alam Cold Rolled Steels Limited. Saiful Alam himself is a taxpayer of the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU), which is conducting a separate investigation into his affairs.

An officer involved in the investigation told Prothom Alo that Saiful Alam and his family members have kept more money under their company names than their own.

In 2017, the S Alam Group, based in Chattogram, took control of Islami Bank. The chairman of the bank was Saiful Alam’s son, Ahsanul Alam.

The bank had distributed loans amounting to Tk 1750 billion, with approximately Tk 880 billion being withdrawn by the S Alam Group alone, according to the new board of the bank.

It is reported that the S Alam Group has taken loans totaling around Tk 2000 billion from various banks. There are allegations that Saiful Alam and his family have amassed significant assets in Singapore, Dubai, Malaysia, and other countries using these loan funds.

In addition to tax evasion, the Chattogram Customs, Excise, and VAT Commissionerate is investigating VAT evasion by 18 companies of the S Alam Group. A preliminary report from the audit team is expected this month.

The S Alam Group companies under investigation for VAT evasion include: S Alam Steel Limited (Unit-1), S Alam Steel Limited (Unit-2), S Alam Steel Limited (Unit-3), Chemon Steel Limited, New S Alam Shoes and Burmese, S Alam Refined Sugar, SS Power Limited, Autobots Automobiles, Platinum Spinning Mills Limited, S Alam Power Plant Limited, S Alam Properties Limited, S Alam Cold Re-Rolling Mills, Signing Asset Limited, Grand Spinning Mills Limited, Masud Printing and Packaging, Infinity CR Strip Industries Limited, S Alam Bag Manufacturing Mills Limited, and Ocean Resort Limited.

Earlier, in June, VAT officials discovered evidence of nearly Tk 35 billion in VAT evasion by S Alam Vegetable Oil Limited and S Alam Super Edible Oil Limited, both part of this group.

*This article, originally published in Prothom Alo print and online editions, has been rewritten in English by Rabiul Islam