SINGAPORE – A naturalised Singaporean has been sentenced by a court in Bangladesh to five months’ jail over a financial crime, with lawyers for the billionaire decrying the ruling as “invalid” and “in breach of the rules of natural justice”.
Saiful Alam Masud, his wife Farzana Parveen, 54, and their son Ahsanul Alam, 32, were sentenced in Chattogram, where they were born, in May for the non-repayment of an 84.49 crore Bangladeshi taka (S$8.8 million) loan from Islami Bank Bangladesh – a financial institution he previously controlled.
All three are Singaporeans. Several associates of Alam, and other members of his family, have also received the same sentence.
The tycoon’s lawyers from Singapore firm WongPartnership told The Straits Times that Alam, Parveen and Ahsanul Alam were sentenced in absentia.
The lawyers added that their client had learnt about the matter via the media and was “not in a position to participate in the proceedings” as he was not formally notified or served.
“The Bangladesh courts have passed orders against our client in his absence, and without giving him an opportunity to respond or present his case,” the lawyers said.
“Our client is therefore of the view that any court orders arising from these proceedings are without basis, invalid and were issued in breach of the rules of natural justice and amount to a grave depravation of justice.”
They said the company at the centre of the loan default – OG Travels Ltd – is not part of or otherwise related to the S Alam Group. It is also not owned by the billionaire, they added.
Alam is the founder and chairman of the S. Alam Group, which is involved in industries as diverse as food, manufacturing, energy, transportation, real estate and telecommunications.
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