Dhaka: The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has submitted charge sheets in three notable cases against 34 individuals, including S Alam Group chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam and former managing director of the then Reliance Finance Limited, Proshanta Kumar (PK) Halder. This development was revealed during a regular media briefing by ACC Director General Md Akhter Hossain at the commission’s headquarters in the city’s Sagunbagicha area.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the anti-graft body initiated these cases on July 2, targeting alleged misappropriation of loans through false companies and subsequent money laundering activities. The first case details that on August 12, 2013, Saiful Alam, in collaboration with officials from the then Reliance Finance Limited (now Aviva Finance Limited), and Md Abdullah Al Mamun, owner of Messer’s AM Trading, sanctioned a term loan of Taka 34 crore. The loan, disbursed on September 9, 2013, bypassed essential protocols like obtaining a CIB report, address verification, and MICR cheque deposits, with the funds eventually funneling into S Alam Super Edible Oil Limited’s account. Thirteen individuals face charges in this case.
In the second case, a loan of Taka 32.50 crore was sanctioned on the same date by the leasing company to a fictitious entity, Messer’s Mostafa and Company, and disbursed on October 9, 2013. The funds were transferred by S Alam Group to the company owner. Thirteen individuals are also charged in this instance.
The third case involves a term loan of Taka 24 crore approved for Messer’s Saiful and Company on October 3, 2013, with the funds disbursed on November 4, 2013, and similarly moved to the company owner by S Alam Group. Again, thirteen individuals face charges in this case.
Key figures charged in these cases include S Alam Group’s Chairman Saiful Alam, Vice Chairman Abdus Samad, Directors Mohammad Abdullah Hassan and Shahana Ferdaus, and former Reliance Finance Limited executives such as PK Halder, Rashedul Haque, Nahida Runai, Kazi Ahmed Jamal, and Jumaratul Banna, alongside directors of Marine Vegetable Oils Limited and owners of the false entities.
The charges are framed under sections 409, 109, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120/B of the Bangladesh Penal Code, section 5(2) of the Corruption Prevention Act-1947, and sub-sections 2 and 3 under section 4 of the Money Laundering Prevention Act-2012. The ACC investigators have compiled charge sheets against 34 individuals, with some accused being implicated across all three cases.