Former president Shahabuddin probe report due on 20 January

DHAKA: A court has set 20 January next year for submission of an investigation report in a corruption case filed against former president Mohammed Shahabuddin and 19 others over the alleged acquisition of shares worth Tk 2.51 billion in the name of Brilliant Business Company Limited using money from Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC.

The case involves allegations of corruption, fraud and abuse of power, with the accused allegedly acting in collusion to misappropriate the bank’s funds through the share acquisition.

The date was rescheduled on Tuesday as the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the investigation agency, failed to submit its report on the scheduled date.

Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Mohammad Shahjahan Kabir set the new deadline. Riaz Hossain, bench assistant of the court, confirmed the development.

On 4 September 2025, Md Abduch Samad, a senior officer of Islami Bank, filed an application with the court on behalf of the bank seeking legal action. The court recorded his statement and directed the ACC to investigate the allegations and submit a report.

The other accused include Brilliant Business Company Limited Managing Director Abdul Wahed and its chairman, Mirfat Ara Begum; S Alam Group and S Alam Centre Chairman Mohammed Saiful Alam, widely known as S Alam; and 17 directors of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC.

According to the complaint, Brilliant Business Company Limited, allegedly operated by the accused, acquired 77,536,393 shares in the complainant institution, equivalent to 4.8160 per cent of its total shares. The shares were valued at Tk 2.51 billion.

The complaint states that Brilliant Business Company had an authorised capital of Tk 500 million but a paid-up capital of only Tk 800,000. The acquisition of shares worth Tk 2.51 billion through a company with such limited paid-up capital was inconsistent with its financial capacity, it alleges.

The complainant alleged that the transaction was carried out through a planned arrangement and in collusion among the accused, involving irregularities and corruption in the use of public funds.

The complaint further alleges that 24 shareholder companies acquired a combined 81.92 per cent stake in Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC, many of them reportedly linked to the S Alam Group.

An analysis of the share transfers, sources of funds and transaction dates allegedly found that the purchase and sale of shares took place on the same dates for both parties. This, according to the complaint, suggests that the transfers were pre-planned and executed through a coordinated arrangement.

The complaint alleges that the S Alam Group, its owners and senior officials, the 24 associated companies and the directors appointed by them collectively pursued a strategy to establish control over the bank.

It further claims that abuse of power, transactions involving conflicts of interest and investments undermined the bank’s transparency and internal control systems, allowing the accused to benefit unlawfully and misappropriate public money.

The allegations have yet to be established in court.