B Mirror Report : Once prominent and controversial in long-distance passenger transport, the S Alam Group’s large business has now become entangled in serious financial uncertainty. Nearly a year before the group fell into crisis, it planned to add 134 luxury Hino buses to its existing fleet of about 200 buses. For this purpose, Ozi Travels Limited an S Alam Group owned company signed a purchase agreement worth BDT 10.942224 billion on December 20, 2023, with Aftab Automobiles Limited, an affiliate of the Navana Group. According to the agreement, the buses were to be delivered by December 2024; however, even after two years, Ozi Travels has not received a single bus.
This failure has had a direct impact on Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC. The bank’s Chattogram Khatunganj Corporate Branch financed the entire amount of the contract between Ozi Travels and Aftab Automobiles. Meanwhile, following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5, 2024, major changes occurred in the country’s political and economic landscape. Senior figures of the controversial S Alam Group went into hiding, and the number of buses they operated on the roads fell to below one hundred. As a result, uncertainty over the recovery of the bank’s invested funds deepened further.
According to bank sources, on December 20, 2023, loans totaling more than BDT 10.9 billion were approved in favor of Ozi Travels for the purchase of 134 buses. Subsequently, between March 10 and July 8, 2024, a total of BDT 8.53 billion was disbursed in eight installments to the account of Aftab Automobiles. However, as the buses were not delivered, this huge amount of money effectively became high-risk.
After failing to recover the loan, Islami Bank filed a case on August 26 at Chattogram Artha Rin (Money Loan) Court–1, registered as Case No. 584/25. According to documents submitted to the court, as of August 23, 2025, the bank’s total outstanding dues stood at BDT 8,061,600,761. The defendants include Ozi Travels, its Chairman Gofranul Alam, Managing Director Hakim Ali, and several other members of the S Alam family. Aftab Automobiles Limited and four of its directors have also been named as accused.
On November 9, the court ordered full repayment of the amount within 60 days. However, the bank authorities reported that no progress has been made in repayment even after the stipulated period expired. In addition to the money loan case, Islami Bank has also filed a separate criminal case on charges of fraud at the Chattogram Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, registered as Case No. 2873. The bank alleges that despite full payment, the borrower and the supplier jointly defrauded the bank by failing to deliver the buses.
Mohammad Jamal Uddin, Senior Vice President of Islami Bank and Manager of the Khatunganj Corporate Branch, said that if the buses had been delivered on time, they would have been registered in the bank’s name and kept under the bank’s control as collateral security against the loan. However, as the buses were never received, the entire investment is now at risk.
