TDS Desk:

The High Court has issued a rule directing the authorities to freeze 81.92 percent of Islami Bank Bangladesh PLC shares, held by 24 S Alam-associated companies, for three months.

The order came following a writ petition accusing S Alam Group of illegally concentrating and controlling the bank’s shares through these 24 entities. The Islamic Economic Research Bureau (IERB), a sponsor shareholder institution of Islami Bank, filed the writ.

A High Court bench comprising Justice KM Kamrul Kader and Justice Md Lutfar Rahman issued the rule alongside the interim order on 30 August.

In the rule, the court asked the respondents to explain why Bangladesh Bank’s failure to address the concentration of 81.92 percent of Islami Bank’s shares by S Alam through 24 companies—in violation of Sections 14A and 14B of the Bank Company Act, 1991—should not be declared illegal.

The court further questioned why the central bank’s inaction to confiscate those shares under Section 14(3) of the Bank Company Act, 1991, should not be declared unlawful.

Under the provisions of the Bank Company Act, no single individual, group, or family is permitted to hold more than 10 percent of a bank’s total shares. However, the writ petition highlighted that, contrary to this legal restriction, 24 institutional shareholder companies associated with S Alam hold 81.92 percent of Islami Bank’s total shares.

Under its interim order, the High Court directed the freezing of the 81.92 percent shares held under the names of the 24 companies for the next three months. Advocate Mohammad Shishir Manir represented the petitioner during the hearing.