Government to hire international law firm to fight case against S Alam Group

The government has decided to appoint an international law firm to defend itself against an international arbitration case filed by S Alam Group founder Saiful Alam, widely known as S Alam, and his family.

The legal fee for the firm has been fixed at $1,250 per hour.

The decision was approved on Tuesday at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Government Procurement, held at the Secretariat and chaired by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.

Sources familiar with the meeting said the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs placed a proposal seeking approval to appoint an international law firm and procure legal services to handle ICSID Arbitration Case No. ARB/25/52, filed against the Bangladesh government.

Following deliberations, the committee approved the appointment of the international law firm White & Case LLP.

However, no details were disclosed regarding how the firm’s total hiring costs will be calculated.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said S Alam had reportedly filed a case in London over alleged money laundering and had also taken the matter to the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

“To fight this legal battle, we will appoint a lawyer. This involves a significant amount of money,” he said.

When asked about the country of origin and the specific institution appointed, he said he could not recall the name at that moment, adding that it was an international firm.

Referring to actions taken against S Alam over money laundering allegations, the finance adviser noted that when a government or company is accused of obstructing business activities, investors have the option to seek arbitration at ICSID.

“We have received the arbitration notice. We must respond, and the matter is very complex,” he added.

In October last year, lawyers representing S Alam and his family formally submitted a request for arbitration to ICSID, which is headquartered in Washington, DC.

The claim alleges that asset freezes, confiscations, and other punitive measures taken by the Bangladesh government in connection with alleged illicit fund transfers caused losses amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars.

In their application, the S Alam family accused the interim government of deliberately targeting them through the freezing of bank accounts, seizure of assets, what they described as “baseless” investigations into their businesses, and “provocative media campaigns.”

They argue that these actions violate international investment agreements.

The arbitration has been filed under the 2004 Bangladesh–Singapore Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). According to the documents, the S Alam family renounced Bangladeshi citizenship in 2020 and obtained Singaporean citizenship between 2021 and 2023. They currently reside in Singapore.

The family claims that as Singaporean citizens, they are entitled to international investment protection. They have also sought protection under Bangladesh’s Foreign Private Investment (Promotion and Protection) Act, 1980.

Following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in a mass uprising on 5 August 2024, an interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus took office.

Since then, the government has initiated investigations and asset recovery efforts against several major business groups and influential individuals accused of large-scale money laundering.

A white paper on the economy published by the interim government in December 2024 estimated that approximately $234 billion had been laundered abroad.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur, who heads the task force on recovering laundered funds, has said the S Alam family alone siphoned off nearly $12 billion overseas.

He also alleged that S Alam and his associates took control of multiple banks and transferred funds abroad through loan fraud and irregularities linked to import transactions.