Court orders seizure of S Alam couple’s foreign assets

A Dhaka court yesterday ordered the freezing and confiscation of foreign assets of S Alam Group Chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam and his wife Farzana Parveen in three countries.

S Alam and his wife Farzana own movable and immovable properties in Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands, and the Jersey Islands, according to the applications filed by the ACC.

These assets include a two-storey residential building in Cyprus, shares of 19 companies in the British Virgin Islands, and shares of six companies in the Jersey Islands.

Of the 19 companies in the British Virgin Islands, Hazel International PTE Limited is owned by S Alam and his wife Farzana, and its market value stands at $5,95,000.

They also have another company named Peacock Property Holdings Limited, whose market price is not mentioned.

Besides, the couple owns six other companies in the Jersey Islands, whose market value is not mentioned in the ACC applications. Jersey is a self-governing dependency of the British Crown.

Judge Md Zakir Hossain of Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge's Court passed the order after ACC Deputy Director Tahasin Monabil Haq, who leads the inquiry team, submitted three applications in this regard.

In the applications, the ACC official said during the inquiry of money laundering by the ACC, credible evidence has emerged indicating that the couple have acquired several moveable and immoveable assets (shares in companies) through proceeds of crime, especially utilising funds obtained by illegal means.

"The ACC official came to know from credible sources that the couple was trying to transfer their properties elsewhere. So, an order is needed to prevent them from doing so," said the ACC in the applications.

The court ordered the authorities to send the copies of the order to the relevant authorities in those countries for the next course of action.

On June 17, the same court ordered the anti-graft body to confiscate 200.26 acres of immovable properties owned by S Alam, his family members, and their beneficiaries over corruption allegations.

The market price of the properties is Tk 180.61 crore.

On April 23, the same court ordered the ACC to confiscate 9,646.04 kathas of immovable properties of S Alam, his family members, and their beneficiaries over graft allegations. The market value of the properties stands at Tk 407.21 crore.

On April 17, the same court directed the graft watchdog to freeze 1,360 bank accounts of them over graft allegations. The accounts have Tk 2,619 crore deposited in them.

It also asked the ACC to confiscate 7,919.52 kathas of immoveable properties of S Alam, his family members, and their beneficiaries on April 9.

Besides, on January 30, the court ordered the ACC to confiscate 58 acres of immovable properties belonging to S Alam and his family members in connection with corruption allegations.