Controversial Bangladeshi conglomerate S Alam Community has been found to retain big investments within the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a neatly identified tax haven and fallacious for shell companies.
Based entirely on investigators having a gaze into laundering allegations against the community, its Chairman Saiful Alam Masud has established 18 shell companies – typically aged for cash laundering – within the BVI between 2011 and August 2024, with out the most valuable approval from Bangladesh’s central bank.
This revelation comes as Bangladesh intensifies its crackdown on corruption and monetary crimes dedicated by influential figures including S Alam who had discontinuance ties with the not too long within the past fallen Awami League authorities that ruled the country for over 15 years, starting in 2009.
On Revolutionary Organization Revolutionary Organization 17 November, the period in-between authorities’s Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus announced that a listing of 150 influential individuals suspected of corruption and cash laundering had been compiled with investigations already underway for Seventy 9 of them.
Proper days earlier, Bangladesh Financial institution Governor Ahsan H Mansur said efforts to get well laundered sources were progressing. “The derive has been cast, and now it’s miles correct a subject of reeling it in.”
A member of the taskforce eager about these efforts instructed TBS that the invention of S Alam’s BVI holdings used to be a suppose outcomes of the authorities’s centered decision to sign and get well laundered sources.
The official, talking on situation of anonymity, described the findings as “a most valuable step forward” within the ongoing investigation.
In dumb October, BB Governor Mansur said tycoons connected to the ousted AL regime had syphoned spherical $17 billion from the banking sector, with S Alam by myself taking not lower than $10 billion.
All-out efforts wanted
Birupaksha Paul, a professor of economics on the Explain College of Recent York and a frail chief economist of the Bangladesh Financial institution, told TBS that two businessmen – S Alam and Salman F Rahman – are to blame for destroying Bangladesh’s banking sector, with the old authorities taking half in a key role on this.
“The governor said S Alam by myself laundered $10 billion in a international country. The authorities must manufacture every effort to repatriate these funds, including initiating authorities-to-authorities talks, in particular with Singapore, to facilitate the return of sources held by S Alam there,” he said.
The community reportedly has most valuable investments in Singapore, Malaysia, Cyprus, and Europe.
On the replace hand, he cautioned that whereas the formulation is long, correct avenues might perchance grab years, and political changes with upcoming elections might perchance perhaps complicate issues. “These commercial groups might perchance perhaps additionally coordinate with the next elected authorities to safeguard their interests.”
All over a taskforce assembly on 19 November, details of the in a international country sources held by S Alam and totally different groups were highlighted, per sources from both home and world organisations collaborating with the taskforce.
S Alam’s shell companies in BVI
Within the British Virgin Islands, Canali Logistics Pte Ltd used to be first included below S Alam’s name in 2011, , per the taskforce source.
Ten more companies were included below S Alam from 2016 to 2020. They are – Honeywell Global Pte Ltd, Golden Trails Global Pte Ltd, Hamilton Global Pte Ltd, Hazel Global Pte Ltd, Livonia Pte Ltd, Lu Shui Global Pte Ltd, Pittsdale Global Pte Ltd, Springfield Global Pte Ltd, Qing Shui Global Pte Ltd and Trivoli Trading Pte Ltd.
Furthermore, six more companies were included from 2021 to August 2024. They are – Adair Global Pte Ltd, Greenwich Global Pte Ltd, Linear Global Pte Ltd, Marico Global Pte Ltd, Wavepac Global Pte Ltd, and Zenita Global Pte Ltd.
Furthermore, a company named Peacock Property Holdings Tiny used to be included below S Alam’s name on 22 Might 2019.
Within the case of Hazel Global Pte Ltd, 70% of the shares are held by Saiful Alam, with the final 30% owned by his wife, Farzana Parvin.
Any Bangladeshi person or institution must peep approval from the central bank earlier than investing in a international country. The S Alam Community used to be not granted such permission, sources said.
The 2017 Paradise Papers leak exposed the offshore dealings of one of the most valuable most arena’s most valuable folk and companies, bringing the British Virgin Islands into the spotlight as a neatly-identified tax haven.
Located more than 17,000 kilometres away from Singapore, this territory presents most valuable tax advantages, including no earnings tax, company tax, or capital gains tax. Furthermore, it presents privacy rights, allowing companies to feature with out publicly disclosing the names of their shareholders or directors on official paperwork.
Why use tax havens?
Shell companies, in overall established to retain sources or facilitate transactions with minimal operational exercise, thrive in tax havens ensuing from low taxes, confidentiality, and lax rules. Contemporary jurisdictions love the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, and the Channel Islands entice businesses and individuals within the hunt for secrecy and tax advantages.
Investigations by the Global Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) point to frequent exploitation of these havens. The findings highlight how shell companies are aged to evade taxes, launder cash, and vague ownership, leveraging regulatory loopholes for monetary gains.
Repatriating funds complicated however can even be completed
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, government director of Transparency Global Bangladesh, told TBS that The Bangladesh Financial institution and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) have to agree with documented evidence to screen that the cash used to be laundered, as they were eager.
“Whereas recovering laundered funds will not be not doable, it’s miles a complicated and prolonged project,” he said.
He said that it goes to be legally established that S Alam’s companies in BVI are funded by cash laundered from Bangladesh. “Although it’s miles in overall claimed to be smuggled cash, no country will return it until legally proven,” he added. “As soon as established, diplomatic efforts with these international locations must follow.”
For that, Iftekharuzzaman pressured out the necessity for coordination among 5 key agencies: BFIU, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Prison Investigation Division (CID), the Nationwide Board of Revenue (NBR), and the Attorney Overall’s Office.
S Alam’s totally different in a international country holdings
S Alam reportedly started constructing his commercial empire in Singapore starting in 2009 with registering just a few companies below his own and his wife’s names.
A most novel investigation by TBS printed that the community invested spherical $700 million (spherical Tk6,300 crore) to fetch three resorts and retail home in a procuring mall in Singapore.
Earlier experiences, equivalent to 1 by The Day-to-day Well-known person, instructed that S Alam has built a commercial empire worth not lower than $1 billion in Singapore.
Based entirely on confidential paperwork from Bangladesh Financial institution, S Alam is speculated to agree with embezzled nearly Tk2 lakh crore from Bangladesh through counterfeit loans.
These loans were channelled by project of spurious paperwork and laundered in a international country through varied import-export companies, as printed by sources inner Bangladesh’s Central Financial institution and the Financial Intelligence Unit.
