S Alam Group chairman among 11 sentenced in Tk 84.5cr Islami Bank loan case

A Chattogram court today sentenced S Alam Group Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam and its 10 executives to five months’ imprisonment in a case over the non-repayment of a Tk 84.49 crore loan from Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC.

Judge Md Helal Uddin of Chattogram Money Loan Court-1 delivered the verdict following a petition filed by Islami Bank’s Khatunganj branch, confirmed branch official Md Ershad.

The convicted individuals include Saiful Alam’s wife Farzana Parveen, his brothers Osman Gani, Md Rashedul Alam, Abdus Samad; Farzana Begum; Ahsanul Alam; OG Travels Ltd Chairman Gofranul Alam, Managing Director Hakim Ali, and directors Md Abdullah Hasan and Shahidul Alam.

According to court sources, Islami Bank approved a loan of over Tk 80 crore for OG Travels Ltd, a sister concern of S Alam Group, on December 20, 2023, to purchase 134 buses. The loan was disbursed in eight phases between March 10 and July 8, 2024.

However, the buses were reportedly not supplied as agreed, leaving the loan at risk.

After failing to recover the loan amount, Islami Bank filed a case with Chattogram Money Loan Court-1 on August 26 last year.