Criticism
According to New Age, S. Alam Group had taken 300 billion taka loans from Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd which was denied by the bank.[37][38] The Minister of Finance, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, announced an investigation of loans of the group.[2] He believed the group was using loans from other banks for the takeover. According to Ahsan H Mansur, director of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, the group has taken 800 billion taka loans from various banks through its subsidiaries.[25]
On April 17, 2021, five workers at Banshkhali power plant were killed by police firing bullets at protesting workers demanding payment of dues and breaks for prayer and iftar during Ramadan. Their ages ranged from 18 to 25. More than 20 other workers were also injured.[39][40][41] The company filed a case against a local engineer under the Digital Security Act.[42] Bangladesh High Court ordered S. Alam Group to pay 500 thousand taka to each of those workers killed in the police action.[43]
Directorate of Consumers' Rights Protection had found S. Alam stopped production of edible oil during shortages hiking up price of oil in the market.[44] In December 2022, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called for an investigation into S. Alam Group according to The Daily Star.[45] The Prime Minister's Office denied the prime minister issued the order.[46] Justices Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Khizir Hayat of the High Court Division ordered an investigation into the S. Alam Group owned banks of Social Islami Bank Limited, First Security Islami Bank, and Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.[47] Bangladesh Bank provided additional funding to five S. Alam Group owned banks, First Security Islami Bank, Global Islamic Bank, Islami Bank Bangladesh, Social Islami Bank, and Union Bank.[48] In 2022, it was one of five Bangladeshi groups that imported more than one billion dollar worth of raw materials; the others were Abul Khair Group,
SS Power Limited, a concern of S Alam Group, allegedly laundered $815.78 million (around Tk 10,000 crore) from Bangladesh between 2019 and 2023 through misuse of two Letters of Credit (LCs) meant for importing capital machinery for a 1320MW coal-based power plant in Chattogram. Despite opening the LCs to import items such as boiler structures, generators, and transformers, no equipment ever entered Bangladesh. However, the funds were still transferred out of the country, with Bangladesh Bank approving payments to SS Power's Chinese partner, SEPCO, based on fake invoices and fabricated documents. An investigation by The Daily Star revealed that 184 fraudulent invoices were uploaded on the Bangladesh Bank server via Rupali Bank, which managed the LCs. These invoices included future dates, unrelated Import Permissions (IPs), and even documents tied to exports, not imports. Of these, 88 invoices were linked to 50 companies that had no connection with SS Power or SEPCO. Even though Chattogram Customs found no import records for these transactions, payments were still processed. Further investigation showed that Rupali Bank uploaded the fraudulent data despite there being no actual imports, pointing to the involvement of high-level bank officials. While SS Power's CFO denied wrongdoing, Rupali Bank confirmed the transfer of $815.78 million. This scandal highlights serious gaps in the financial oversight mechanisms of Bangladesh, with both customs and banking authorities failing to prevent the capital flight. Bangladesh Bank and other authorities have yet to take decisive action, although they have acknowledged the evidence brought forward.[50]
In December 2024, S. Alam Group issued a notice of arbitration to the Government of Bangladesh to recover losses that it claims after the group's assets were frozen.[51]
Hostile takeover of Ekushey Television
On 5 January 2015, Ekushey Television broadcast a live speech of BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman during the 2015 Bangladeshi political crisis. ETV's chairman, Abdus Salam, was arrested the next day on pornography charges, which the Committee to Protect Journalists stated was a guise, the real reason being the broadcasting of Tarique Rahman's speech.[52] Abdus Salam was later jailed on charges of sedition, a case in which Tarique Rahman was co-accused.[53] On 25 November 2015, S. Alam group took over ETV in a hostile takeover ordered by then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The takeover was overseen by the DGFI. The officers responsible were then DGFI chief Lt. Gen. Akbar Hossain, former NTMC chief Maj. Gen. (dismissed) Ziaul Ahsan, Commander M. Sohail, and Lt. Col. Rashed Alam. After the hostile takeover, Awami League leader and Sheikh Hasina's former assistant,
