Mohammed Saiful Alam, founder and chairman of business conglomerate S Alam Community, has claimed that an world investment pact and his situation as a Singaporean citizen supply protection in opposition to a “advertising and marketing and marketing campaign of intimidation” being waged by the Bangladesh Monetary institution in opposition to his conglomerate.
In a letter sent by lawyers on their behalf, Saiful and members of his family warned Governor Ahsan H Mansur that they’re going to additionally witness to open world arbitration courtroom cases in opposition to Bangladesh, reports the Monetary Times (FT).
The letter from regulation agency Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan follows Mansur’s allegations in an interview with the FT that Saiful and co-workers “syphoned off” after all Tk1.2 trillion ($10 billion) from Bangladeshi banks below the regime of ousted veteran top minister Sheikh Hasina.
Based totally on the FT picture, the letter accuses Mansur of creating “inflammatory and unsubstantiated public feedback” amounting to a “advertising and marketing and marketing campaign of intimidation in opposition to a industry community” that it talked about employs about 2 lakh folks directly and in a roundabout scheme in Bangladesh.
The letter and Saiful’s threat to pursue world arbitration worth his most serious pushback but in opposition to the interim authorities, led by Muhammad Yunus, which took vitality after a pupil-led uprising toppled Hasina on 5 August.
Mansur, a veteran IMF legit who became as soon as appointed BB governor in August, told the FT closing month that Saiful and his associates had syphoned off money out of the banking sector after taking over main banks with the assistance of members of a highly efficient protection force intelligence agency.
Mansur alleged that Saiful, his associates and a great deal of groups feeble solutions corresponding to loans to the banks’ unique shareholders and inflated import invoices to full the “greatest, best doubtless robbing of banks by any world standards”.
S Alam Community, which has pursuits in sectors along with meals, building, garments, and banking, rejected Mansur’s allegations closing month, announcing in an announcement thru Quinn Emanuel that there became as soon as “no fact” to them.
The letter to Mansur – sent on behalf of Saiful Alam, his indispensable other Farzana Parveen and his sons Ashraful Alam and Asadul Alam Mahir, who it talked about collectively owned and managed a “predominant phase” of S Alam community – described the allegations as “intentionally untrue and defamatory”, reports FT.
“Your statements simplest additional the goals of an apparent advertising and marketing and marketing campaign designed to murder the S Alam Community, and therefore additionally the merchants’ investments,” it talked about. “Notably, you appear to be main, if no longer orchestrating, that advertising and marketing and marketing campaign.”
The letter talked about all four merchants had been Singaporean residents.
FT says a spokesperson for Quinn Emanuel didn’t reply to its request for touch upon when Saiful Alam’s family had got Singaporean citizenship and whether or not they remained Bangladeshi nationals. The authorities of Singapore didn’t reply to a request for comment.
Bangladesh and Singapore contain a bilateral investment protection treaty dating from 2004.
The letter talked about Mansur’s statements as central financial institution governor had been “attributable to the Teach of Bangladesh” below the pact. It talked about that as Singaporean residents, the merchants additionally enjoyed “the rights and protections” granted by a 1980 Bangladeshi regulation on foreign private investment.
The merchants’ letter talked about they would “take all critical measures to guard their rights, along with nonetheless no longer restricted to” requesting arbitration by the Global Centre for Settlement of Funding Disputes.
Mansur told the FT that the claims he made in the interview had been “fully substantiated” when requested for a response to the letter.
“They’re peaceful being documented for the reason that differ of notorious actions are frequent at some stage in loads of banks and over many years. The elephantine documentation will make the effort,” he added.
The letter talked about the merchants would favor to support away from costly and persistent litigation and remained dedicated to resolving any variations “amicably and basically based mostly totally on regulation”.
But it no doubt warned the central financial institution governor that if he persisted to “encroach on their rights” making “untrue statements”, they and S Alam Community would “contain no more than just a few nonetheless to take apt motion” in opposition to Mansur personally for the “effort you might possibly possibly contain gotten inflicted”.
