Bank officials protest outside tycoon Saiful Alam's Ctg home over arrears

Officials from 12 branches of First Security Islami Bank press for the recovery of funds invested in businesses linked to S Alam Group

Officials of First Security Islami Bank have staged a sit-in protest outside the residence of Saiful Islam Masud, head of the controversial Chattogram-based industrial conglomerate S Alam Group.

The protest took place on Tuesday at the Sugandha Residential Area in Chattogram's Panchlaish. Officials representing 12 branches of the bank, previously controlled by S Alam Group, took part in the demonstration to press for the recovery of investment funds.

“We make investments using public deposits, and a crisis has emerged due to our inability to recover these funds,” said Mohammad Mostafa Kamal, senior vice president and manager of the bank's Khatunganj branch.

Kamal said that of the bank's total investment portfolio of Tk 650 billion, Tk 450 billion is tied up with businesses linked to S Alam Group. In the Chattogram region alone, branches are owed approximately Tk 350 billion, which remains unpaid.

When asked why such a significant sum was invested in a single group, Kamal said, “The current situation in the country is different from what it was back then. At that time, we couldn’t thoroughly assess and scrutinise these investments.”