Information about S Alam Group has bought a bank with money from another lender and taken controlling stakes in other banks is surfacing now, but people in the banking sector and involved in economic policy-making knew about the developments, said Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh.
The noted economist made the comments while speaking to The Daily Star yesterday about the influential group’s borrowing from several banks.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel. “So much borrowing by one group and the ownership of several banks by the group is a matter of concern for the country’s banking sector and the economy.”
A High Court bench on December 4 directed the authorities to probe the alleged loan scams in Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd (IBBL), Social Islami Bank Ltd (SIBL) and First Security Islami Bank.
Mohammed Saiful Alam, chairman of S Alam Group, is the chairman of First Security Islami Bank while people linked with the influential businessman currently control IBBL and SIBL.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Bangladesh Bank, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), and the Criminal Investigation Department of Police were asked to submit probe reports to the court by April 5.
The bench asked S Alam Group to come up with explanations on the reports that it took Tk 30,000 crore from IBBL and to place relevant documents in this regard before the court.
And Mansur said before the…
