Janata Bank has filed a case against S Alam Group with the Chattogram Loan Court or Artharin Adalat on Sunday over default loans amounting to Tk 1,964 crore.
Chattogram Money Loan Court Magistrate Mujahidur Rahman issued an embargo on transfer of about 7.43 crore shares of First Security Islami Bank and Al-Arafah Islami Bank controlled by S Alam Group Court bench assistant Rezaul Karim, confirm the matter.
He said this is the first time a default loan case has been filed against the group by a bank accusing 10 people, including chairman of the group Mohammed Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen.
They have been accused in the loan case in which they money was taken in the name of Global Trading Corporation, a subsidiary of S Alam Group.
According to Janata Bank and Bangladesh Bank, the group has taken Tk 8,216 crore in total loans from one of the bank's branches, which represents 90 percent of the branch's entire loan portfolio.
Bank officials said this is the first time that any bank has filed a loan recovery case against S Alam Group as the conglomerate has been weaponising its political ties with the government for business gains during the past Awami League regime.
Legal adviser for Janata Bank Shafiqul Islam Chowdhury said "The court has imposed an embargo on transfer of shares of the two banks owned by Saiful Alam Masud and his brother Abdus Samad Labu. The court has also ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate whether the loan approval process was properly complied with."
Court documents state that Global Trading Corporation first obtained a loan of Tk 650 crore from the Chattogram corporate branch of Janata Bank, which is located at Sadharan Bima Bhaban, in violation of Bangladesh Bank's directives.
The loan amount now stands at Tk 1,963 crore, including interest, as the company has not paid any installments since September 2024.
