Cyprus court orders seizure of assets owned by Saiful Alam and wife
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A Nicosia District Court has ordered the seizure of assets belonging to Bangladeshi businessman Mohammad Saiful Alam, widely known as S. Alam Masud, and his wife in the Parekklisia area of Cyprus. The court issued the injunction on May 19 following a formal request from the Cypriot anti-money laundering unit, MOKAS, acting on behalf of Bangladeshi authorities. The legal move is part of an ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of massive bank fraud and money laundering involving the S. Alam Group chairman.
The seized assets include a two-story residential property in Parekklisia. Alam, who founded the S. Alam Group, obtained Cypriot citizenship in 2016 through the nation’s “golden passport” investment program. Although the Cypriot government has since terminated this scheme, official reports reviewing the program’s history did not cite Alam’s citizenship among those under scrutiny.
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The investigation in Bangladesh centers on a complex network of companies and financial transactions spanning from 2009 to 2024. According to documents submitted by Bangladeshi investigators to their Cypriot counterparts, authorities are probing allegations of fraudulent loan acquisition and the illegal transfer of assets abroad. Central Bank of Bangladesh officials have publicly alleged that more than 8 billion euros may have been laundered out of the country, with investigators currently tracing capital flows through Cyprus, Singapore, and other jurisdictions.
Specific allegations under investigation involve a substantial loan provided by Islami Bank Bangladesh to an S. Alam-affiliated entity for the purchase of 134 buses—vehicles that investigators claim were never acquired. Shortly after the seizure order in Cyprus, a Bangladeshi court sentenced Alam and ten of his relatives and associates to five months in prison in connection with this specific case. Beyond this, Bangladeshi regulators are scrutinizing the group’s extensive borrowing from multiple financial institutions, including Islami Bank Bangladesh and First Security Islami Bank, many of which have since become non-performing loans.
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The scrutiny also extends to Eclair International, a Cyprus-registered firm that Alam acquired in 2016. Bangladeshi authorities are examining whether this entity, along with a web of companies and trusts linked to the British Virgin Islands and Jersey, was utilized to facilitate illicit financial movements.
Mohammad Saiful Alam has formally denied all allegations, asserting through his legal representatives at Quinn Emanuel that his investments were derived from legitimate foreign sources and that the current legal actions against him are unjust. He has initiated proceedings with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), claiming that the actions taken against his assets violate international investment protection agreements.
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