S Alam Group and its associates have taken out loans totaling Tk 95,000 crore from six banks.

 

Between 2017 and June of this year, S Alam Group and its associate companies secured loans totaling Tk 95,331 crore from six banks. Notably, 79 percent of this amount was provided by Islami Bank.

This amount represents 5.78 percent of the total outstanding loans in the banking sector as of March.

Between 2017 and June of this year, S Alam Group and its associate companies borrowed Tk 95,331 crore from six banks, with 79 percent of this amount provided by Islami Bank. Read More

The total amount borrowed by S Alam Group and its associate companies from six banks between 2017 and June this year is Tk 95,331 crore, which equates to 5.78 percent of the banking sector's total outstanding loans as of March. However, according to Bangladesh Bank and informed bank officials, the actual amount borrowed is likely higher. Read More

 

Documents reviewed by The Daily Star reveal that much of these loans were acquired by circumventing banking rules and regulations, illustrating the significant influence the Chattogram-based conglomerate has exerted over the country's banking sector. Read More

 

S Alam Group, founded in 1985 by Mohammad Saiful Alam—who is related to former Awami League politician Akhtaruzzaman Chowdhury Babu and former Land Minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury—has become one of Bangladesh's largest conglomerates. Read More

 

For instance, within a month of opening an account at Islami Bank's Chaktai branch in Chattogram, Murad Enterprise, a modest corrugated tin seller, was granted Tk 890 crore without proper verification of its need or financial capacity. A year later, Murad Enterprise, a front for S Alam Group, secured an additional Tk 110 crore loan, with minimal collateral requirements, despite S Alam Group's significant control over the bank. Read More

 

S Alam Group and its affiliated entities borrowed Tk 74,900 crore from Islami Bank, where Alam's eldest son, Ahsanul Alam, has been chairman since June last year. Of this, Tk 26,000 crore was borrowed under the names of its subsidiaries, while the rest was distributed among 29 associate companies, including Nabil Group, Desh Bandhu Group, Unitex Group, and Anantex Group. Read More

 

Islami Bank's Khatunganj branch in Chattogram stands out for disbursing Tk 35,924 crore through 10 companies linked to S Alam Group. Additionally, S Alam Group and its shadow companies, such as Nabil Foods and Anowara Trade International, secured Tk 29,575 crore from Islami Bank's Rajshahi branch, with another Tk 23,900 crore borrowed through the bank's offshore unit and other branches in violation of regulations. Read More

 

State-run Janata Bank also flouted rules in extending Tk 13,400 crore to S Alam Group. Approximately Tk 10,449.45 crore was borrowed under the names of S Alam subsidiaries, with 90 percent of these loans sourced from Janata's Sadharan Bima Corporate Branch in Chattogram. The remaining Tk 2,950.55 crore was borrowed by S Alam's associate companies. This lending exceeded Janata Bank’s single borrower exposure limit, which is capped at 25 percent of its paid-up capital; Janata’s paid-up capital was Tk 2,314 crore at the end of June. Read More

 

Additional loans were taken from Social Islami Bank (SIBL), where chairman Belal Ahmed is Alam’s son-in-law and other relatives are on the board. S Alam Group borrowed Tk 4,200 crore from SIBL. Union Bank, with board members including Alam's siblings and nephew, provided Tk 2,000 crore. Global Islami Bank (GIB), where Alam’s daughter Maimuna Khanam is vice-chairman, lent Tk 574 crore. First Security Islami Bank (FSIBL), chaired by Alam himself, loaned Tk 257 crore, with Alam’s wife and other relatives on the board. Read More

 

Industry insiders suggest that the total loans from SIBL, FSIBL, Union, and GIB could be even higher when including loans taken by associate companies. Read More

 

In response to these severe irregularities, Bangladesh Bank has imposed restrictions on the lending activities of these banks, excluding Janata Bank. Read More

 

Attempts to reach Alam, Subrata Kumar Bhowmik (executive director of S Alam Group), the managing directors of the six banks, and BB spokesman Md Mezbaul Haque for comments were unsuccessful. Read More