Court Orders to Freeze Shares and Bank Accounts of Bashundhara Group Chairman and Family Members

A Dhaka court has ordered the freezing of 754,690,302 shares held in 22 companies under the names of Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and seven of his family members. According to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the market value of these shares is approximately Tk 1,458.75 crore.

Additionally, the court ordered the freezing of Tk 19.81 crore and USD 10,538 (approximately Tk 12.85 lakh) held in 70 bank accounts belonging to the family members. The order was issued on Tuesday by Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md. Zakir Hossain following a petition filed by the ACC.

ACC Deputy Director (Public Relations) Akhtarul Islam confirmed to People's Time that the court had approved the ACC’s request to freeze ownership shares and funds in bank accounts linked to the Bashundhara Group Chairman and his family.

The 22 companies in which the shares are frozen include:

East West Property Development Pvt Ltd Meghna Cement Mills Ltd Bashundhara Paper Mills Ltd Bashundhara LP Gas Ltd Bashundhara Industrial Complex Ltd Bashundhara Steel and Engineering Ltd Bashundhara Horticulture Ltd Bashundhara Food and Beverage Industries Ltd Bashundhara Dredging Company Ltd Bashundhara Import Export Ltd Bashundhara Trading Company Ltd Crystal Properties Ltd Bashundhara Multi-Paper Industries Ltd Bashundhara Packaging Industries Ltd Bashundhara Glass Industries Ltd United City Twin Tower Development Ltd Toggi Real Estate and Construction Ltd Bashundhara Cement Industries Ltd Bashundhara Cement Mills Ltd Bashundhara City Development Ltd Bashundhara Tissue Industries Ltd East West Media Group Pvt Ltd

The ACC stated that Bashundhara Group has stakes in several other companies registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), and there have been attempts to transfer those shares. If such transfers are allowed, the ACC warned it may not be possible to seize the assets after investigations and legal proceedings. Thus, freezing the assets was deemed necessary.

Between 1999 and 2024, a total of Tk 2,075.24 crore and USD 192,034 were transacted through the 70 bank accounts. At present, Tk 19.81 crore and USD 10,538 remain in those accounts.

Previously, on February 18, the court ordered the freezing of immovable and movable assets in the UAE, Slovakia, and the UK under the names of Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir and his family members. These assets included company shares, apartments, and business premises. Anvir reportedly owns a two-bedroom flat on the 11th floor of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, valued at Tk 12.40 crore.

On December 3 last year, the court also ordered the freezing of overseas assets belonging to eight members of Ahmed Akbar Sobhan’s family. The ACC informed the court of investments, property purchases, and bank transactions totaling around Tk 143 crore.

In its petition, the ACC said that during its investigations into allegations of money laundering, tax evasion, land grabbing, loan fraud, embezzlement, and acquisition of illegal assets, it found evidence that Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and his family members had invested large sums of money in Slovakia and Cyprus under their names and associated companies. These investments were made without permission from Bangladesh Bank, and some individuals obtained foreign citizenship using these funds.

According to the ACC’s submission, the family invested in 19 companies across Slovakia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Switzerland, the British Virgin Islands, the UK, and Singapore. They also conducted significant financial transactions through Habib Bank in the UAE and Eurobank in Cyprus. Properties were reportedly purchased in Cyprus without government authorization. Sayem Sobhan Anvir acquired Slovakian citizenship by investing 3 million euros (approximately Tk 38 crore), while his wife Yasah Sobhan obtained Cypriot citizenship by investing 2 million euros (Tk 25 crore). Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and his wife Afroz Begum invested USD 250,000 (around Tk 3 crore) to obtain citizenship in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The ACC further stated that eight members of the Sobhan family invested in 19 companies abroad, and that Safwan Sobhan and his wife Sonia Ferdousi Sobhan opened accounts in the UAE’s Habib Bank and Cyprus’s Eurobank to launder illicit funds.

On October 21 last year, the court had also issued a travel ban on the eight family members .