S Alam's plea for stay on HC probe order
Hearing tomorrow
FE REPORT | Tuesday, 22 August 2023
A petition has been filed seeking stay on a High Court order that asked the authorities concerned to investigate the allegations against the owner of S Alam Group of amassing huge property abroad without Bangladesh Bank's permission.
S Alam Group owner Mohammad Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen submitted the petition to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court through their lawyers on Monday.
Justice M Enayetur Rahim, chamber judge of the Appellate Division, set Wednesday for hearing the petition, said Muhammad Saifullah Mamun, a lawyer for the petitioners.
Senior lawyers Ajmalul Hossain and Ahsanul Karim appeared in the hearing for S Alam Group while Mintu Kumar Mondal on behalf of Khurshid Alam Khan stood for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Earlier, the HC refused to entertain an appeal for recalling its August 06 order that directed the authorities concerned to conduct an enquiry into the allegations against Mr Alam regarding the transfer and investment of huge amounts of money abroad.
On August 06, the same HC bench directed the authorities concerned to conduct an enquiry into the allegations against him. The ACC, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligent Unit and the Criminal Investigation Department have been asked to comply with the direction.
The organisations have to submit an enquiry report to the HC within two months.
The HC bench passed the order after considering a report published in an English daily on August 04 under the headline "S Alam's Aladdin's Lamp".
SC lawyer Syed Sayedul Haque Suman placed the newspaper report before the HC bench seeking necessary directives.
According to the media report, Mr Alam has built a business empire in Singapore worth at least about $1.0 billion, although there is no record of him taking any permission from the Bangladesh Bank to invest or transfer any funds abroad.
The central bank has so far allowed 17 companies to invest outside the country, and this Chattogram-based business giant is not on that list.
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