Mohammad Saiful Alam alias S Alam, a Singaporean citizen, has taken international legal action against Bangladesh over asset seizure and investment restrictions, according to a report in the British newspaper The Financial Times.
S Alam claims that the interim government seized his assets and damaged his investments after the fall of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina; he is taking legal action to recover these losses.
S Alam founder and chairman Saiful Alam said that since the interim government came to power, his family's bank accounts have been frozen, they have been banned from traveling and they have lost control of their companies. He is also facing an investigation on charges of money laundering without any official notification.
S Alam has sent a 'dispute settlement notice' to the interim government's chief adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus and other advisers in this regard, The Financial Times reported.
The notice warns that if the matter is not resolved within six months, international arbitration will be pursued under the 2004 Bilateral Investment Treaty between Bangladesh and Singapore.
S Alam's lawyers are taking the legal action under the 2004 Bilateral Investment Treaty signed between Bangladesh and Singapore.
The notice, sent on December 18, states that the S Alam family obtained Singaporean permanent residency in 2011 and citizenship between 2021 and 2023. It also states that S Alam's family members renounced their Bangladeshi citizenship in 2020.
The letter of the notice sent by lawyers from law firm Queen Emanuel & Sullivan has been seen by the British newspaper Financial Times (FT).
The notice alleges that the S Alam family's bank accounts have been frozen, they have been banned from traveling and they have lost control of their companies. In addition, state agencies are investigating them for possible money laundering without any official notice.
It also said that restrictions have been imposed on the distribution of loans to banks owned by the S Alam Group. The management teams of the banks have been changed. The government has terminated their contracts “arbitrarily and without due process.”
The letter sent by Queen Emmanuel said that the actions and negligence of the Bangladesh government and its various agencies have “totally or partially destroyed the value of the assets invested by investors.”
The letter also said that these continued actions and negligence violated the rights available under the investment agreement and the laws of Bangladesh and laid the foundation for the ongoing dispute.
The Bangladesh government did not agree to comment on the notice when requested by the Financial Times.