Singaporean FIU seeks info on S Alam Group assets

Singaporean Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has sought detailed information on the domestic and overseas assets possessed by the controversial Chattogram-based S Alam Group from Bangladesh's Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).

Confirming the development, a BFIU official on condition of anonymity said they have received queries about the conglomerate from their Singaporean counterpart through an email.

"We are now preparing the details on S Alam Group as per the requirement and will send this information to the Singapore's FIU soon," the official added.

The official said the agency is responsible for exchanging information related to money laundering and terrorist financing with foreign counterparts.

"It is a regular and routine work," the official added.

S Alam Group came to the spotlight after recent media reports that the business entity amassed a huge volume of undisclosed overseas assets, including those in Singapore, over the last one decade.

The business conglomerate reportedly took control over six commercial banks and a financial institution in Bangladesh.

It is learnt, the group allegedly withdrew over Tk1.0 trillion from these commercial lenders.

After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in the face of a mass uprising last month, the central bank dissolved boards of the banks apart from freeing those from the control of the group.

Simultaneously, the government, Bangladesh Bank, BFIU and Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) have taken strict measures against the controversial business conglomerate alongside freezing accounts of the individuals linked with the business group.

The central bank also asked the people not to buy any movable and immovable properties, which will be used in compensating depositors of the banks if the group did not repay the loans.

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