A Chattogram court on Thursday issued arrest warrants against S Alam Group Chairman Saiful Alam Masud, his brother Abdullah Hasan, and 11 others for failing to repay a loan of approximately Tk848.91 crore.
Judge Md Helal Uddin of Chattogram Financial Loan Court-1 passed the order, who also sentenced the individuals to five months’ civil imprisonment.
The legal action follows a case filed by Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC under the Money Loan Court Act.
According to court sources, the warrants were issued after the accused failed to settle the outstanding debt – originally taken from the bank’s Khatunganj Corporate Branch – within the mandated timeframe.
Md Ershad, bench assistant of the court, confirmed the development.
Founded by Chattogram-based businessman Saiful Alam Masud, the S Alam Group was once among the nation’s largest industrial conglomerates.
However, over the past decade, the group has faced intense scrutiny regarding allegations of banking sector domination, large-scale loan irregularities, money laundering, and financial misconduct.
Allegations suggest the group leveraged political influence to seize control of the boards of various banks to secure thousands of crores of taka in loans through anonymous and questionable means.
Various reports have stated that the group’s liabilities with Islami Bank alone exceeded Tk30,000 crore, a significant portion of which subsequently became default loans.
