S Alam Group, a Chittagong-based business group, looted six more banks, including Islami Bank, under their control. Banks under the control of the group are at high risk as the unethical facilities of the central bank were stopped after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government. S Alam Group, a business group close to the outgoing Awami government, has been accused of taking over several banks through political influence. These banks have drowned by smuggling money in the name of loans.

Saiful Alam Masood, chairman of Birtakit S Alam Group, has invented a unique way to make money. One of his money-making strategies is to create new companies or acquire sick companies and then borrow hundreds of crores of taka in the name of these paper companies.

Masud is confident that no bank will dare to question him. Because many banks are under his control. For this he strategically placed his people in the top positions of various banks. In many cases, these companies are registered in the name of his relatives or other persons.

One such example is the group’s withdrawal of around Tk 45,000 crore from Islami Bank Bangladesh. In mid-2022, Masud acquired a dry flour factory called Silver Foods Industries Limited for Tk 18 crore. On April 6, 2023, the Andarkilla branch of Islami Bank approved a loan of Tk 850 crore for this factory.

Meanwhile, the banks have not been able to deposit money as required in the central bank for almost two years due to non-return of loan money. However, the newly resigned Governor Abdur Rauf Talukdar’s special privileges kept their activities normal.

According to sources, Abdur Rauf Talukder, the absconding former governor, misused his power to sustain the banks of S Alam by secretly printing extra money. After the change in the government, the central bank reduced the limit of special privileges given to these banks. Apart from this, the facility of clearing checks of more than one crore taka of these banks has also been stopped. Newly appointed central bank governor Ahsan H Mansoor said he will take a decision on these banks.

It is known that S Alam Group took control of Islami Bank in January 2017. Now one-third of the bank’s loans are owned by group interests. In the same year Social Islami Bank was taken over by S Alam Group with the help of Defense Intelligence Agency. The previous year they took control of Bangladesh Commerce Bank. Since its inception in 2013, Global Islami and Union Bank have been controlled by S Alam Group. And in 2004, control of First Security Islami Bank went from Sikdar Group to S Alam Group.

According to bank sources, how negative is any bank: First Security Islami Bank has the most deficit among the banks. The chairman of the bank is Saiful Alam Masood, leader of the S Alam Group. The deficit of First Security Bank is Tk 10 thousand 611 crores. Consistently- Islami Bank Bangladesh deficit is 7 thousand 128 crore, Social Islami Bank is 4 thousand 481 crore, Union Bank is 2 thousand 794 crore, Global Islami Bank is 712 crore and Bangladesh Commerce Bank is 392 crore.

Economist Professor Dr. Moinul Islam said that there is no such control of S Alam Group over 7 banks including the country’s largest Islamic bank.

By giving thousands of crores of loans to non-existent or nameless institutions, it can be understood that there are many irregularities. Already about 40-45 thousand crores taka have been looted from Islami Bank. It is important to bring back this money.