S Alam warns of taking Bangladesh into int’l arbitration

Saiful Alam, a business tycoon who is widely believed as one of the key beneficiaries of the deposed Sheikh Hasina regime, has alleged that the Bangladesh Bank governor propagated an intimidation campaign against them.

In a letter, Saiful Alam mentioned his Singaporean citizenship and an international investment pact as a shield against the intimidation campaign, and warned the central bank governor of seeking to launch international arbitration proceedings against Bangladesh. 

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, a law firm, issued the letter on behalf of Saiful Alam and his family members, British broadsheet Financial Times reported on Tuesday. 

During an interview in October, the central bank governor, Ahsan H Mansur, told the British daily that Saiful Alam and his associates had “siphoned off” at least US $10 billion “as a minimum” from the banking system after taking control of banks with the help of the DGFI. “Every day they were granting loans to themselves.” 

Now, Saiful Alam accused the governor of making “inflammatory and unsubstantiated public comments” amounting to a “campaign of intimidation against a business group” that it said employs about 200,000 people directly and indirectly in Bangladesh. The letter also described the allegations as “deliberately false and defamatory”.

“Your statements only further the aims of an apparent campaign designed to destroy the S Alam Group, and therefore also the Investors’ Investments. Notably, you appear to be leading, if not orchestrating, that campaign,” the daily quoted the letter.  

However, the time when Saiful Alam and his family members obtained Singaporean citizenship could not be confirmed as the law firm spokesperson refrained from responding to Financial Times in this regard. 

According to the report, Bangladesh and Singapore have a bilateral investment protection treaty dating from 2004. Saiful Alam claimed that the central bank governor’s allegations are “attributable to the State of Bangladesh” under the pact. 

Besides, as Singaporean citizens, the investors enjoyed “the rights and protections” granted by a 1980 Bangladeshi law on foreign private investment.

The letter noted that they would “take all necessary measures to protect their rights, including but not limited to” requesting arbitration by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

However, Ahsan H Mansur stood firm in favour of his statements and told the Financial Times that all those allegations were fully substantiated.

“They are still being documented because the range of corrupt activities are widespread across many banks and over many years. The full documentation will take some time.”