A Dhaka court on Monday framed charges against 13 people including, S Alam Group Chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam and former managing director of Reliance Finance Limited Prashanta Kumar (PK) Halder, in a case lodged for allegedly embezzling Tk32 crore through fraud and abuse of power.
Judge Md Abdus Salam of Dhaka 9th Special Judge Court passed the order, setting 8 February for start recording the deposition of the witnesses.
The other accused are S Alam Group Vice-Chairman Abdus Samad; Directors Mohammad Abdullah Hasan and Shahana Ferdous; former executive vice-president of Reliance Finance Limited (now Aviva Finance Ltd) Rashedul Haque; former manager Nahida Runai; former senior vice-president Kazi Ahmed Jamal; former deputy manager Jumaratul Banna; former managing director of Marine Vegetable Oils Jahir Ahmed; and directors Tipu Sultan, Md Ishaq and Md Abdullah Al Mamun.
Among the accused, Nahida Runai and Rashedul Haque are currently in jail. As S Alam and 11 others remain absconding, the court issued arrest warrants against them.
According to the case statement, on 12 August 2013, a term loan of Tk32.50 crore was approved in the name of a fictitious company, Messrs Mustafa & Co, and the loan was disbursed on 9 October the same year. The money was later transferred to the account of S Alam Super Edible Oil Limited.
Following the incident, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Assistant Director Mahmudul Hasan filed the case on 2 July 2025. After completing the investigation, the ACC submitted a charge sheet on 15 October the same year against S Alam Group Chairman Mohammad Saiful Alam and 12 others.
