Hotel Sarina on CSE land, owner Amir Khasru family

What was supposed to be the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Tower at plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in the capital's Banani area has now become Hotel Sarina. Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, the former president of the CSE and a top BNP leader, changed the building plan according to his whims to fulfill his desires, committing fraud with CSE's assets.

Amir Khasru did not do this alone. His wife, sister-in-law (wife's sister), and brother-in-law (husband of wife's sister), Golam Sarwar, were also involved in the incident.

The matter of corruption and abuse of power has come to the attention of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The ACC has filed a case against Amir Khasru Mahmud, his wife Tahera Khasru Alam, Hotel Sarina's chairman Golam Sarwar, Hotel Sarina's managing director Sabera Sarwar (Nena), and RAJUK's building inspector Aurangazeb Nannu. ACC Deputy Director Selina Akhtar has filed the case under Penal Code sections 409/109/467/468/471/420 as well as section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (Act No. 2).

Mohammad Akhtarul Islam, an officer of the ACC's Public Relations Department, acknowledged the matter, saying, “The ACC is working on the issue. You will know the progress soon.”

When asked, Asif Ibrahim, the current chairman of the CSE, told The Daily Messenger, “I am new as the chairman of the CSE; this incident did not occur during my tenure. The ACC is investigating the irregularities committed by Amir Khasru Mahmud when he was the president. We are providing the ACC with whatever they are asking for.”

He added, “For more details, please contact Director Emdadul Islam.” When contacted, Emdadul Islam said, “The plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in Banani was supposed to be the CSE Tower. Now, it is Hotel Sarina. The ACC is looking into what kind of irregularities have occurred here.”

When asked about the matter, Professor Abu Ahmed, who served as a director of the CSE during Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury's tenure in 1999, declined to comment.

Regarding the incident, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, who is currently staying abroad, told The Daily Messenger on WhatsApp, “I am aware of the matter. The Anti-Corruption Commission has filed false cases against me, my wife, and others in this regard. I am legally dealing with it. If you want to know more details, I can tell you in person after I return to the country. Apart from this case, 23 more political and false cases have been filed against me.”

When attempted to reach Golam Sarwar, the public relations officer of Hotel Sarina told The Daily Messenger, “Sir is in a meeting right now. I am informing sir about this matter. Sir will talk if necessary.” Neither Golam Sarwar nor anyone on his behalf received any call or called back until the filing of this report on Wednesday evening.

According to the ACC case statement, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and his wife Tahera Khasru Alam were shareholders of the five-star Hotel Sarina Inn Ltd., located at plots 27 and 25 on road no. 17 in the Banani area of Dhaka. A review of the seized and collected records further revealed that the accused concealed their involvement with the hotel business. Additionally, the accused Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and his brother-in-law Golam Sarwar jointly purchased plot no. 25 on road no. 17 in Banani and constructed a 21-story building, known as Basati Tower, instead of the 15-story building approved by RAJUK. The accused Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, while serving as the president of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, a member of parliament, and a minister in the BNP-led government, deliberately and strategically appointed his brother-in-law as the developer of the said plot no. 27 of the organization (CSE) and later involved himself along with his wife, thus making the plot his personal property.

The case statement says that from the seized and collected records during the preliminary investigation, it is seen that the accused Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury served as the first president of the CSE from January 1, 1995, to December 21, 2001. During his tenure, the CSE purchased plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in the Banani commercial area of Dhaka from RAJUK for the purpose of constructing the CSE Tower in Dhaka. Even before the registration of the lease deed of the plot with RAJUK, in the 74th board meeting of the CSE's board of directors chaired by its president Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury on September 25, a discussion was held to appoint Golam Sarwar (Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury's own brother-in-law), the managing director of Hotel Harbour View in Chattogram, as the developer of the said plot.

Continuing from the 74th board meeting, in the 75th board meeting, it was decided to sign an agreement with the same developer, Golam Sarwar, on November 15, 1999, on the condition of giving the Chittagong Stock Exchange a basement and 5 floors.

On January 19, 2000, the registration [lease deed No. 483 (DVP)] for plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in the Banani commercial area of Dhaka was completed between RAJUK and Waliul Maruf Matin, chief executive officer of the CSE, on behalf of the CSE. Even before the registration of this lease deed, the CSE's 74th and 75th board meetings had decided to appoint a developer for plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in Banani. However, in those board meetings, no decision was made to enter into a developer agreement with any company named Sarina Inn or with its managing director, Golam Sarwar.

Bypassing the decisions of the 74th and 75th board meetings of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, in a planned manner, an unregistered agreement was executed on February 13, 2000, regarding the development of the said plot between Golam Sarwar, the managing director of Hotel Sarina Inn Limited, and Waliul Maruf Matin, the former CEO of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, on the condition of giving a basement and 4 floors (instead of 5 floors). Subsequently, on May 23, 2000, another registered power of attorney No. 6216 was executed between the Managing Director of Hotel Sarina Inn Ltd., Golam Sarwar, regarding plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in Banani. This power of attorney granted Golam Sarwar, the managing director of Hotel Sarina Inn, all kinds of financial powers, including the power to mortgage. This power of attorney did not mention any floor allocation. It also did not mention in which CSE board meeting the developer appointment agreement was made.

The company named Hotel Sarina Inn Ltd. received registration (Registration no. 3517/99) from the Joint Stock and Companies on December 19, 1999. Therefore, there was no decision by the CSE to appoint the newly registered Hotel Sarina Ltd. as the developer of the said plot. The former CEO of the CSE, Waliul Maruf Matin, illegally made the developer appointment agreement with the company owned by Golam Sarwar (the accused Amir Khasru's brother-in-law) and Sabera Sarwar Nena. Subsequently, on July 10, 2000, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury and his wife Tahera Khasru Alam acquired 50 percent shares of Hotel Sarina Inn, becoming its owners. They then transferred their shares to the accused Golam Sarwar and the accused Sabera Sarwar Nena on April 20, 2001.

Later, on September 3, 2002, they again became involved with Hotel Sarina Inn and remained partners in the ownership (including Basati Tower) of Hotel Sarina Inn Ltd. until January 10, 2010.

The case details further state that after completing the construction of Hotel Sarina, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury operated a five-star hotel named Hotel Sarina Inn. As the then president of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury knew that the company named Sarina Inn was not appointed as the developer of plot no. 27 on Road no. 17 in the Banani commercial area by the CSE's board meeting. Nevertheless, he strategically created a new company in the name of his own brother-in-law and sister-in-law and completed the task of misappropriating the plot for himself.

Waliul Maruf Matin, the then CEO of the CSE who died in 2020, registered the entire plot of land and four floors with a basement in the name of the accused, Golam Sarwar, through deed no. 17294 on November 20, 2004, at the Gulshan Sub-Registry Office. The deed did not mention the floors constructed on the plot. Later, Golam Sarwar refrained from mentioning the other floors constructed on the said plot and had the mutation done in his name from RAJUK and the land office. At the time of deed registration, the price paid was shown less than the actual price, evading government revenue. According to information from the CSE, they received Tk 3 crore 24 lakh for the sale of the floors mentioned in the deed. However, to evade revenue, the managing director of Hotel Sarina Inn Limited showed a lower price of Tk 1 crore 74 lakh (deed no. 17294).

In this situation, the accused Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, his wife, the accused Mrs. Tahera Khasru Alam, the accused brother-in-law Golam Sarwar, and the accused sister-in-law Mrs. Sabera Sarwar Nena conspired together, disregarding the decision of the Chittagong Stock Exchange board. Through a planned method and in collusion with the former CEO of the CSE, Waliul Maruf Matin, they fraudulently appointed Golam Sarwar as the developer for plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in the Banani commercial area. Later, they, along with their developer company, constructed a 22-story building and operated a five-star hotel under their ownership. Bypassing the CSE board's decision, they made an illegal agreement with the company owned by the brother-in-law and sister-in-law of Amir Khasru and occupied plot no. 27 on road no. 17 in Dhaka's Banani commercial area.

Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, the first president of the Chittagong Stock Exchange (1995-1995), was a Member of Parliament and a minister of the government. He transferred the plot of the Chittagong Stock Exchange to a company owned by his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Later, while serving as the president of the Chittagong Stock Exchange, he and his wife acquired the ownership of that company, thereby committing a criminal breach of trust. By doing so, the accused Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, his wife Mrs. Tahera Khasru Alam, brother-in-law Golam Sarwar, sister-in-law Mrs. Sabera Sarwar Nena, and RAJUK's Building Inspector Aurangzeb Nannu conspired together and resorted to cheating, aiding each other and benefiting themselves, committing offenses under Sections 409/109/467/468/471/420 of the Penal Code and Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (Act No. 2).

Therefore, a case has been filed against Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, his wife Tahera Khasru Alam, brother-in-law Golam Sarwar, sister-in-law Sabera Sarwar Nena, and RAJUK's building inspector Aurangzeb Nannu.